


His New Favorite Color

by Jess6446



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Bad Puns, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Female Reader, Fluff, Frisk Uses Sign Language, Gender-Neutral Frisk, M/M, Mute Frisk, Post-Pacifist Route, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader-Insert, SO MUCH FLUFF, Some OCs because of course, We're All Sinners, im tagging at 1am, more characters later - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2018-05-24 20:36:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 32
Words: 70,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6165970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jess6446/pseuds/Jess6446
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just your average story about falling in love with a skeleton.<br/>(I’m writing again! New chapters every Monday.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. New City, New Friends

You've lived in the same small town your whole life- you were used to the same thing day in, day out. Finally, you had managed save up enough money to move to the city. You weren't sure why, but you always felt drawn there. It felt like some of the best times in your life had taken place in the city. But a little less than six months ago, when the barrier had fallen, your plans had nearly changed. At first, you, like most, thought it was a joke. Monsters, underground, all this time? There was no way. It took the first few months for your family to realize it wasn't some big prank, some people on the news on costumes. Even after all these months, you haven't actually SEEN a monster, not in person, at least. But you weren't about to let your worried family and friends stop you from getting on with your life. 

You were lucky enough to land a Skype interview with your now employer before moving out, not wanting to have an unsteady income. If you were doing this, you were doing it right. You had also already signed all of the papers and agreements for your new apartment. It definitely wasn't big- just one bedroom and an "office" that probably wouldn't fit more your desk. Even with this in mind, the kitchen had won you over. It was pretty spacious, especially for this cost. You couldn't wait to break in all of your new supplies.

You pushed the button labeled "4" and watched the elevator doors close in front of you, readjusting the boxes in your arms. Since when did you own so many things? Maybe you had bought too many dishes for only one person. At this rate, you'd have to take several trips up to your new apartment. You let your thoughts wonder as the door opened, stepping out of the doors. Well, beginning to, at least. You stopped mid-step, your eyes widening. Of course, you knew you would see monsters in the city. After all, a lot of monsters stayed in close range with Mount Ebott. But you didn't think that they would... Look like this. In front of you stood a large skeleton- he must have been six, maybe even seven feet tall. Before you could process your situation, your arms lost their grip. Everything toppled out of your arms, causing several loud clangs and a noise you could only describe as breaking. The monster had what looked like a worried expression on his face- er, skull. How could solid bone even have an expression?

"I AM SORRY HUMAN, THE GREAT PAPYRUS DID NOT MEAN TO STARTLE YOU!" You were interrupted from your thoughts by his words, but you only stood there, gaping.  
The monster- Papyrus' expression deepened. "HUMAN, HAVE I BROKEN YOU?"

You finally managed to move, shaking your head. "I-I'm sorry. I just didn't expect to see- um," you quickly tried to rethink your sentence, face growing red. 

"relax kid, we don't bite." The new voice caused you to only grow in unease. Whipping your head around to face the shorter skeleton, you watched as he stopped the doors from closing.

"OF COURSE WE BITE, SANS, HOW ELSE WOULD WE EAT?" Papyrus exclaimed at who you now assumed was Sans. The smaller skeleton only shrugged. "HUMAN!" His loud voice made you cringe, but you looked up, meeting the skeleton's gaze. "WHY DO YOU REQUIRE SO MANY BOXES? THEY AREN'T EVEN FILLED WITH SPAGHETTI!"

"I'm, um, moving into an apartment.." Your words drifted off. Since when did you say 'um' so much? What was so bad about a couple of skeletons?

"4a?" You nodded to the smaller monster, calming yourself. How had you not noticed how deep his voice was? It couldn't be more different from his brother's. Was it racist to assume that all skeletons were related? You were broken from your thoughts again as you watched Papyrus scramble to grab your boxes. He stood up, seeming much more comfortable with the heavy weight then you had been. 

You finally worked up the courage to speak like a normal human being. Was THAT racist? "What are you doing with those?" Okay, maybe courage wasn't the best way to describe the way you sounded. 'Squeaky' sounded much more accurate.

"IT ONLY SEEMS RIGHT, SINCE THE GREAT PAPYRUS WAS THE CAUSE OF SUCH A MESS!" You shook your head, trying to grab the boxes from the monster in front of you. He simply raised a massive, gloved hand to you, switching the boxes all into one arm. How could someone with no muscles be that strong? "HUMAN, I MUST INSIST. BESIDES, YOU SEEMED TO BE STRUGGLING WITH ALL OF THESE NON-SPAGHETTI BOXES." 

You tried to resist, but Sans spoke up again. "you may as well say yes now, he's not gonna to stop."

Those words finally made you give in, accepting your fate. You fumbled to get the key out of your pocket, opening the door to the left. There were only three apartments on each floor, so you assumed that the brothers owned the other two. Papyrus stepped in without hesitation, and you were close behind. It was the first time you had ever seen your new apartment in real life, and it was even better than you imagined. When looking for places to live in your price range, you couldn't find much. Sure, you could have lived with a roommate, but you had no friends in the city. As you looked at the off-white walls of your empty living room, your eyes were drawn to the taller skeleton. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to make new friends


	2. Anatomy is Weird

"hey, kid?"

You turned away from Papyrus, who was running a few of the boxes into the kitchen. You couldn't wait until the moving van got here with all of your furniture. You faced the smaller skeleton, and wondered who was the older brother, if they were even brothers. Were they related at all?  
"sorry about Paps spookin' you earlier, guess we weren't expecting someone when the doors opened. And definitely not a..." His words drifted off, gesturing to you. A human. He meant a human. In his defense, you weren't expecting to face monsters anytime soon, either. But why would he not expect a human?

"No, no, you didn't scare me that bad!" You tired to laugh it off, smiling at Sans. "I wasn't expecting anyone either." 

He nodded, still seeming to take you in. "so, what is someone like you doing here?" His voice was even lower, more hushed.

You didn't expect the words to hurt as much as they did. You tried to keep your calm. "What do you mean, 'someone like me'?"

The skeleton raised his- wait, how can a skeleton raise his eyebrows? He doesn't even have any! "this is practically a monster complex. I mean, at least until you. humans don't particularly like to live around... our kind."

This made sense, you guessed. You've heard that many people don't like the monsters, but you didn't think that there reasons were very valid. And when they did have a fair point, there wasn't much proof to back it up. How can you prove that an entire race of people are "homicidal freaks?"

"Well, um," you stuttered again, seeing papyrus come back in out of the corner of your eye. "Guess that explains why the landlord was so surprised to hear I was interested, then." You both nodded, your phone buzzing loudly in your pocket. You tried to ignore it, but Sans was staring, the white pinpricks of his eyes focused on the source of the noise. After a few moments you slipped the phone out of your pocket. It was a text from the moving agency- they were dropping off your furniture. DROPPING IT OFF. Your face moved from confusion to something that resembled anger, and then to panic. How the hell were you supposed to carry a couch up the stairs? Or your bed? Or the tv? Your panic started to transform into anger again. What was the problem? What kind of scheduling error could have happened? This was ridiculous!

"WHAT IS TROUBLING YOU, HUMAN?" The taller skeleton asked, concern washing over his face again. You weren't sure why, but you hated him looking like that. 

You let out a deep sigh, staring at your phone. "Apparently," you started, the annoyance clear in your voice, "The people who were supposed to be helping me move in all of the furniture today don't have the time. They're dropping all of it off now, and there's no way I can carry all of that by myself. I-"

"NONSENSE, HUMAN! I SHALL HELP YOU!"

You looked at Papyrus, shocked. You hadn't even known him for five minutes, and yet he was offering to help you with something that would surely take several hours.  
"N-no, really, it's okay. I'm sure I can-"

" I REALLY MUST INSIST." The skeleton interrupted you again, now looking very stern. "BESIDES," he paused to strike a pose. He flexed biceps that didn't exist, grinning at you. "YOUR FURNITURE IS NO MATCH FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" And with that, he took off out the door.

It took you a minute to register what was going on, but you soon sped off after him. You knew there was no way to catch him if you took the stairs, so you prayed that the elevator was fast enough. You were almost as fast to get down stairs, but it only took you calling out his name to stop the long-legged skeleton in his tracks. You ran to him, resting a hand on his arm. You would have went for his shoulder, but he must of had a good foot and a half in height on you. 

"Papyrus, wait. Really, it's okay. You don't have to help me just because-" he stopped you again, his smile seeming even bigger than before. 

"HUMAN, IF I DID NOT WANT TO HELP, I WOULD NOT HAVE MADE THE OFFER. FRIENDS HELP THEIR FRIENDS!"

You felt your cheeks turn a bit pink. He already thought of you as his friend? "We're friends?" Your voice was barely audible.

"WHY, OF COURSE! HOW COULD THE GREAT PAPYRUS NOT BECOME FRIENDS WITH SOMEONE WHO CLEARLY SHARES THE SAME LOVE FOR COOKING?" His face drooped suddenly, "U-UNLESS YOU DON'T WANT TO..."

That was it. You were totally blushing. You knew you had bought a lot of things to use in your kitchen- heck, you didn't even know how to use some of them. The fact that he had noticed made you want to wrap the skeleton in a hug, but you held back. "I would love to be your friend, Papyrus."

The skeleton nodded, then looked to the doors. The men were already setting down your things- just from here you could see the parts to your bed, the TV, and some boxes that were too large to fit in your car with you. You smiled at Papyrus, and you didn't feel nearly as scared as you had been earlier. 

"Oh, by the way," you spoke to the skeleton, heading for the doors with him at your side, "My name is ______. You don't have to call me 'Human.'" 

The skeleton seemed to ignore your introduction, instead opening the door for you, letting you step into the hot summer air first. It was late June, and you started to wonder why you had decided to move now. Then again, you didn't think that you would have been the one exerting all of this energy. 

You smiled to the two men unloading the truck, even if you were a little more than peeved. "Thank you guys so much for bringing my stuff all the way down here. I know how long that drive is-" you were cut off from your attempt at small talk when one of the men let out a small grunt. He was smaller than the other man, and much hairier, too. 

He looked from you to Papyrus, seeming disgusted as he turned to his coworker. "Told you." Was all he said. Before you could ask what was up, they threw your couch out of the van a bit more roughly than you would have liked. The two men quickly drove off, as if they couldn't wait to get the hell out of dodge.

You shook it off, looking back at your new friend. The skeleton looked incredibly uncomfortable, watching after the van nervously. 

"Ready to get moving?" You asked, hoping to lighten the mood.

When he faced you, his expression softened. How bone could soften, you had no idea. "WHAT SHOULD WE TAKE FIRST, HUMAN?" The skeleton asked, looking at all of the objects on the sidewalk. The men couldn't even be bothered to bring them inside the doors. 

"Let's start light, maybe? Just some of the boxes- we can work together on the heavier stuff later." You suggested to him. 

The two of you soon began filling your arms with boxes and the occasional smaller piece of furniture, running up the stairs together. You weren't nearly as fast as he was, and by the time you had taken two trips the skeleton was ready for a fourth. You occasionally saw Sans, but he didn't seem to be doing much of anything. After you had gotten all of the smaller objects out of the way, you were ready to grab your mattress, deciding the bed frame and couch could go last. Papyrus led the way, and you were careful to instruct him up the stairs, making sure he didn't trip. When you got through the door of your apartment, you were both surprised to see Sans. And your couch. And your couch underneath Sans. You looked at him in bewilderment.

"How the heck-" you started, your mouth hanging agape. 

The smaller skeleton looked at you with a lazy gaze, his same grin plastered on his face. Was it always like that? "Magic." He stated simply, shrugging. 

You wished, since you had technically just experienced magic for the first time, that you could have at least watched it happen. You were shaken from your confusion by Papyrus, who was dragging you along, down the hallway and into your bedroom. You managed to tear your eyes away from Sans, trying to focus on not smashing your fingers while going through the doorway instead. The trip with your bed frame was much easier, and by the time you had gotten back upstairs Sans had managed to wire up your small TV. You quickly plopped down next to him, trying to figure out what he was watching before realizing that he was really just channel surfing. The taller brother stood beside you two, hands on his hips- or, well, hip bones. 

"SANS, YOU LAZYBONES! YOU CAN'T JUST TAKE OVER OTHER PEOPLES COUCHES! YOU HAVE YOUR OWN." 

A small laugh erupted from your throat as you looked between the two brothers. You knew they were brothers, as you had heard Sans call Papyrus "bro" several times now. They both gave you a look of confusion- okay, well, Papyrus looked confused. Sans looked more amused than anything. 

You decided to voice your thoughts. "He's not taking it over Papyrus, he's barely taking up any roo-" before you could finish your sentence, Sans stretched out across the couch, laying his legs over you, a smug grin on his face. This only made you laugh harder. "You numbskull, I'm trying to stick up for you!" You hadn't really meant to make the pun, it just kind of... Slipped out. You didn't even register it until Papyrus had groaned loudly and Sans' eyes had seemed to light up.  
"SANS," the younger brother sounded exasperated, "STOP RUINING MY FRIENDS! SHE HASN'T EVEN HAD THE CHANCE TO HEAR YOUR TERRIBLE PUNS, AND YOU'RE ALREADY RUBBING OFF ONTO HER!" 

"aw, c'mom paps. I thought it was pretty humerus." The shorter skeleton seemed to wiggled his eyebrows at you. If you kept questioning the anatomy behind that, you were surely going to go insane. 

Instead, you just rolled your eyes at him. "Sans, really. That was cheap. And can you get your legs off of me already? They're heavier than they look, and my legs are starting to fall asleep." You nudged his legs for emphasis, but the skeleton seemed content with the position. Accepting your fate, you leaned back against the couch, sinking in to the familiar tan material. 

Papyrus calmed down, but soon pulled out his phone, typing away before letting out a loud gasp. You looked up at him, and away from Sans' legs. There was something that you found so fascinating about the way his bones curved here and there, the way they seemed a bit scratched in one place or another. You tore your thoughts away from Sans. That all seemed pretty... You weren't sure what the word was, but you figured that you shouldn't be staring.

"BROTHER! IT IS GETTING LATE. WE MUST RETURN HOME SO I MAY PREPARE DINNER!" Papyrus pulled his brother off of you with ease, and there was a sudden aching in your legs, as if they just now realized the weight they had been under. Your new friend was nearly out the door before he turned around to face you again. "HUMAN! I ALMOST FORGOT! I DID NOT SEE ANY FOOD ITEMS WHILE UNPACKING TODAY- ARE YOU NOT REQUIRING NOURISHMENT?" 

You opened your mouth to tell him just hadn't gone shopping yet, but a yawn escaped you instead. How had you not realized how tired you were? "Actually, Papyrus, I think I'm going to go to bed. I'm totally wiped out. But thank you so much for helping me out today." 

You stood to see them out, but by the time your legs had managed to lift you up, you were in the tall skeleton's arms. He hugged on to you tightly, lifting you off of the ground and swinging you around, making sure you didn't hit any of your furniture. Your head was spinning by the time he finally set you down, and the skeleton quickly asked to exchange numbers. You didn't really see why it was so important, considering that you lived right next to each other, but of course you accepted. You handed him your phone, and he gave you his in return. It was much different from any phone that you had ever seen, but you chalked it up to being monster technology. You almost saved your number as "HUMAN," but quickly put in your real name instead. After you traded phones back, and he hugged you once more, you turned to ask Sans if he wanted your number as well, but thought twice, simply pocketing your phone instead.

The two brothers were soon out the door, and you were left alone. You suddenly realized how empty your apartment was. Sure, there were boxes and some furniture now, but there was no life to it yet. You made a mental note to buy some posters or paintings or something as you headed to your bedroom. You realized that maybe a mattress on the ground might not be the best situation, and your exhausted brain decided that the couch would be better. You grabbed a fluffy blue blanket, your favorite, from a pile you had stacked in the corner, and quickly sorted through a small bag for your phone charger. When you flopped back onto the couch, it was oddly warm. You could have sworn you smelled something ketchupy, but shrug it off as you plugged in your phone. Soon you were snuggled into familiar caress of your blanket, and you drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, uh, I'm uploading a second chapter. Also at one in the morning. I realized how short the last one was, so I hope this makes up for it. Whoops.


	3. Gimme Some Sugar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told myself I wasn't going to upload this chapter yet. You see how convincing I am.

You woke up the next morning, a bit later than usual. You slowly sat up, groaning as you stretched. When you opened your eyes to get a good look, your surroundings shocked you. Nothing had changed from last night- but you couldn't remember where you were. You flung the blanket off of yourself, standing and spinning in a quick circle before you remembered. That's right, you moved. You're in the city now. This is your apartment. You have a new friend. You smiled at that last thought, a picture of Papyrus coming into your head. Your thoughts then switched to the other brother- you weren't sure you could really call him a friend, but he had definitely seemed to grow more comfortable with you last night.

You decided to go to your kitchen to make some breakfast- before you remembered you had to go to the store today. You sighed, resigning to take a quick shower instead. You found your bathroom supplies, unpacking just enough for your shower. The hot water felt amazing, even if your surroundings were strange. You decided that you were going to buy a cute shower curtain to lighten up the place, make it more....yours. You braced yourself to step out of the shower, knowing that the cold would hit you like a bus. As soon as you had a towel rapped around your body, you ran across the hall and into your bedroom. You smiled at the light blue walls, they were your favorite color. Picking through a box full of clothes, you decided on one of your many tank tops and a pair of jeans. As you went to your mirror to make sure everything was in order, you noticed how worn out you looked. Yesterday had taken a lot out on you, and you weren't even close to being moved in. You decided that you'd try to get most of the unpacking done today as you slipped on your shoes.

You grabbed your phone to check google maps, remembering that you saw a grocery store not far from here. But you weren't about to get lost. As you clicked the home button on your phone, you saw there was a message from Papyrus, and opened it quickly. It was a picture of him, with Sans in the background. Papyrus was doing a thumbs up, a plate of spaghetti next to him. Sans, on the other hand, had a bottle tipped to his teeth. You could have sworn that it was a ketchup bottle, but that was ridiculous. You assumed that this was last nights dinner, and you went to send him a reply.

' _You really like spaghetti, huh?'_ You sent the text, and went on your way.

As soon you entered the store, you noticed that there were many items, and even whole sections, that were more for monsters than humans. They had things like "hot cats" and "tem flakes." You decided that you'd be adventurous another day.

Your phone buzzed in your pocket, a message from 'The Great Papyrus :)" showing on your screen. " _OF COURSE! SPAGHETTI IS THE GREATEST MEAL THERE IS! IT IS ALMOST AS GREAT AS ME!_ " You weren't at all surprised to see that he texted in all caps- in fact, you nearly expected it. You texted with him for a small while while you shopped. You bought what you thought were the essentials; milk, eggs, bread, flour, and some cereals. Of course, once you saw the frozens aisle, you had to buy some a pizza. And some ice cream. And some chocolate chips- you never know when you'll want pancakes! Okay, so maybe they weren't all essentials.

When you checked out, and weren't surprised at all when the cashier was a monster. You thanked her and left, receiving one last text from Papyrus, saying that he was, ' going to train with undyne.' You didn't exactly know what that meant, but you shrugged it off.

When you returned home, you quickly put away all of your groceries. Your stomach growled, and you whined with it. "I just put everything up. " you sighed and settled for a simple sandwich. "I'm making cookies later." You told yourself, like some how this would make your simple lunch better. After finishing the meal, if it really even counted as a meal, you started unpacking the rest of the boxes. You decided to do the bathroom first, and then your room. By he time you got into the kitchen, it was already four. You thought that this was a good place to stop for the day, especially since you were craving those cookies that you had promised yourself.

You quickly got out a cookie sheet and a bowl, then turning on the oven before grabbing all of your ingredients, thankful you had thought to buy some vanilla ahead of time. It was as you were mixing your ingredients together that you realized what was missing. Sugar. How could you forget SUGAR? You had thought to pick up vanilla, but not sugar? You looked at the bowl in front of you, wondering what to do next. It was too late to go back now, and you couldn't just leave everything out and buy sugar now. What the hell could you do?

For a second you thought about asking Papyrus. He said he loved cooking, so surely he had some. But that was such a dumb trope, asking your neighbors for sugar. And besides, you probably would have heard him come upstairs if he was home. You settled for your last chance, hoping, praying even, that Sans was home, and that you were about to knock on the right door. You headed for the end of the small hall, taking a deep breath before knocking on the door. There was a grunt from the other side, and your heart began racing. What if this wasn't his apartment? What it was, and he had been asleep? What if it WASN'T Sans, and they had been asleep? The door opened before you could run, a small, tired skeleton staring you down.

You waved meekly, hoping he wasn't mad. "Uh, hey." Smooth. So smooth. Sans seemed to look you over before opening the door more, gesturing you inside. You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding, and slid through the doorway. "So," you started, trying not obvious as you looked over his apartment. It looked bigger than yours, but when your eyes hit the kitchen, you were thankful for the one you had.

"so." Sans said, his voice more groggy than yesterday. You felt a flutter in your stomach, but just assumed it was a quiet grumble.

You turned on your heels to face him, and he nearly ran into you. "I know this is such a stereotype, asking your new neighbor for sugar, but-"

The skeleton interrupted you, his huge grin seeming more genuine than before, "you want me to give you some sugar?" He ask, one of his eyebrows raised. You really needed to stop questioning that.

"If it's not too much trouble, yeah." You nodded, slowly getting why he emphasized the word 'sugar.' "Oh, I uh, not like that. I'm baking cookies, and I forgot to get sugar when I went to the store. So I need some sugar-"

Sans cut you off for a second time, and you could tell he was struggling not to laugh. "you NEED some sugar? jeez, ______, i saw you staring yesterday, but i didn't know you wanted to jump my bones so badly."

You could feel the heat rise to your face, but even with all of your embarrassment, you couldn't help but laugh. "Jump your bones?" You were shaking with laughter, putting a hand to your stomach.

"cmon kid, who wouldn't want to go to the bone zone with me?" Sans wiggled his eyebrows, rocking back and forth on his feet.

You managed to calm down your laughing, only letting out a giggle here and there, "B-bone zone? Oh my god, Sans. I was going to give you some of the cookies, but now I'm not so sure."

That seemed to get him to stop teasing you. He quickly turned into the kitchen, reaching up into one of the cabinets. They seemed oddly high, and Sans had to stretch to reach the bag. It was... Kinda cute. As you came up behind him, he plopped the whole bag into your hands. "Oh, Sans, I don't need this much-"

The skeleton shook his head, raising a hand. He really must enjoy cutting you off. "it's cool. pap never uses it anyways."

"I'll bring it right back, okay?" You smiled at him before darting off down the hall to finish the cookies. At the last second, you decided to double the batch, making sure there were enough for the brothers too. You slid the first two sheets into the oven, quickly grabbed what was left of the sugar to take back to Sans.

His door was still wide open, and you slipped in without hesitation, heading to the kitchen. Sans stood there, drinking from a... Was that seriously ketchup? Maybe it was just weird monster beer or something? No. Nope. It's red. He's drinking ketchup. He opened an eye, peeking over at you. His smile grew, but it looked more like a smirk now. That smug bastard. "what, you want some?" He tipped the bottle towards you, but you quickly shook your head and set the bag of sugar down on the counter.

"Gross. Just.. Gross. So gross." You kept shaking your head, realizing that that must have been why your couch smelled faintly of ketchup. It wasn't bad, just- drinking it? Seriously?

The skeleton laughed, shrugging it off. Just then, his brother burst in threw the open door. "BROTHER? WHY IS OUR DOOR OPEN? THE HUMAN'S DOOR IS OPEN TOO- ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" He seemed genuinely worried, and you didn't want to think about what was going on in his skull right now.

"right here, bro." Sans' low voice rumbled. It wasn't nearly as groggy as earlier, but it was still very deep.

"I'm here too, Paps." You walked around the corner, just in time to be swept up in the skeleton's long arms.

"HUMAN? WHY ARE YOU IN MY HOME?" He suddenly gasped, smiling as he kept you suspended in the air, "HAVE YOU DECIDED TO JOIN US FOR DINNER? I SHALL MAKE YOU MY FINEST DISH! FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI!" Papyrus dropped you and ran into the kitchen to gather his supplies.

"Um, actually, Papyrus," you hesitated, not wanting to hurt his feelings, "I have cookies in the oven right now. I better get back before I burn the apartment down." You laughed nervously, not wanting to upset him. But of course, the Great Papyrus wasn't phased at all.

"TERRIFIC, WE CAN HAVE THOSE FOR DESERT!" He turned to you, looking the most excited you'd see him yet, "THIS SPAGHETTI IS THE TRUE KEY TO OUR NEW FRIENDSHIP!"

You finally gave in, agreeing to return after the cookies were done. How could you turn him down? You headed to your apartment and checked on the cookies, seeing that it would still take a few minutes for them to be done. You headed to your bedroom, and when you passed your mirror, you had to do a double take. Your shirt was covered in flour, and your face was more red than normal. The ladder was probably because of the heat, but it still was unusual. You changed into your favorite band tee, and as you went to your mirror to do a bit of makeup, you noticed how worn the old shirt was becoming. They cyan blue was starting to fade, and the logo was nearly unreadable. You'd have to find a new one soon, you thought before setting down in front of your mirror with a makeup bag.

You worked quickly and ran for the kitchen when your timer went off. Your face hadn't really changed much, but you felt more confident. Sliding out the pans filled with cookies, you laughed at the memory of this afternoon. You couldn't believe that you had asked Sans for sugar. He hadn't missed a beat, of course, and you were certain you'd be teased at dinner. Papyrus would probably be confused, and you hoped that you wouldn't have to explain. You slid in the last pan of cookies and reset the time, eyeing the ones you had already pulled out. They were too hot to eat. The cookies would burn your tongue, and your hands, if you tried to eat any now. But of course, you gave into temptation, prying a cookie off of the pan while it was still hot, the chocolate chips still warm and gooey. You tossed the desert from one hand to the other, cursing quietly to yourself. You bit into it anyways, and the taste alone was compensation enough for your now surely burned tongue.

Flopping onto your couch, you elected to just watch some tv until it was time to leave. You found some random musical about a robot and their human lover. It was weird, but you were always a sucker for musicals. It was probably all of the dancing, seeing as you liked to choreograph yourself. You smiled, remembering your new job. Somehow, your friend had spotted a wanted ad for a dance teacher, and you were quick to call the listed number. You had been the first person to call, even though the ad had been out for a full week. It felt a bit ridiculous to dance in front of your laptop during your interview, but you got a rush from it like nothing else.

The timer dinged again, waking you from your thoughts. You turned the television off and headed back into the kitchen. After you took out the rest of the cookies, you took out one of your new plates and stacked cookies onto it. You hoped that the brothers would like the treats, and vaguely wondered how they even ate, but decided not to dwell on it. If need be, you'd ask one of them later.

Rushing out the door, cookies in hand, you walked back to the apartment at the end of the hall. You didn't bother locking your door, figuring that you'd be able to hear if anything was going on. The door swung open before you could knock, and you were greeted by the larger skeleton. He ushered you in and obliged, but not before showing off what you had baked.

Papyrus closed the door behind you, following you into the kitchen. It definitely smelled like pasta sauce, though you weren't sure how he made it smell so strongly. You sat the cookies down on the table, and Sans immediately snatched on of them up. You almost chastised him, but you figured that he was an adult. He could do whatever he pleased.

"WOWIE, HUMAN. YOU CHANGED YOUR APPEARANCE!"

You looked to the skeleton, blushing a little. "Uhm, yeah. Just had to change my shirt." You tried to shrug it off, but Papyrus continued to talk. "YOUR FACE IS DIFFERENT TOO. IT LOOKS VERY PRETTY. DON'T YOU AGREE, SANS?" The skeleton looked to his brother, and you couldn't help but to follow his gaze.

Sans' cheeks were a light blue, and he had stopped eating the cookies for a moment. Was he blushing? Your heart fluttered a bit at the thought. Oh no. You told your heart to quit it out. "uh, yeah, bro. very pretty." He shrugged, but your face lit up more. You hoped the topic changed, or else you were going to be as red as the sauce that Papyrus was stirring. Sans went back to eating, and when he noticed you watching, trying to figure out how that worked, he shot you a wink. "enjoying the view?" You felt the fluttering again. Oh NO. You could NOT have a crush on a skeleton.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this will get old, but seriously, thank you guys so much for reading this! Y'all have no idea how happy this makes me. also thank you for your comments and kudos, so so much. 
> 
> Also this chapter ended up being 2,666 words? Sorry if this is way too long.


	4. Dinner with a Sinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's you. You're the sinner.
> 
> I'm not gonna lie, I was working on this for over about two days. And I laughed at this title every. Single. Time.
> 
> Also, just to clarify, you guys probably won't be getting a chapter everyday. I had a few already typed up before I posted this, so yeah. I'll try to update at least every 2-3 days, but I'm trying!

Dinner with the brothers went well. Or at least, the conversation did. For someone who apparently loves to cook, Papyrus wasn't very good at it. Sans had told you that Papyrus had been getting a lot better since they moved to the surface, and he seemed to be genuine. He also seemed extremely grateful. You had stomached the spaghetti, managing to clean your plate entirely. You never knew that you could mess up spaghetti, but apparently you could. You also didn't know that the sauce was supposed to sparkle. The skeletons had enjoyed your cookies, and only a few remained when you left their apartment. You had no idea how Sans was eating cookies and drinking ketchup at the same time, but you knew that it had to be hard to stomach. Oh, yeah. He doesn't have one of those...

By the time you got home, it was late. Papyrus had tried to insist on a sleepover, but you told him that you had work tomorrow. He was disappointed, and even his older brother seemed a little bummed. There was no way you were going to miss your first day, or even be anything but early. So when you had gotten home, you made sure that there would be nothing in your way the next morning. You did the dishes, put away the cookies that you hasn't taken to the brothers, and set your alarm extra early. You had gone over the mornings schedule so many times that you knew the exact minute you'd arrive. A bit excessive? Yeah, probably, but you wanted to make a good impression!

Thanks to your over the top planning, you left right on time that morning. Traffic wasn't as bad as you expected, either, so you made it to work ten minutes early. Your boss was ecstatic to see you, and he told you that for the first week or so, you would be doing more watching than teaching. You were fine with that. It made sense that you wouldn't jump right into teaching a class. Besides, you enjoyed seeing what kind of styles everyone was learning.

Everything was going just as planned. Well, until you went on break for lunch. You slipped your phone out of your pocket to see if there were any new notifications, and as soon as clicked the home screen, your phone buzzed. Perfect timing, you guessed. However, you didn't know the number that had texted you.

" _hey_ "

For a second you thought about asking who they were, but you decided to send a simple " _hey?_ " back

" _have you heard about updog?"_

You giggled to yourself. Really? Updog? You tried to think of who this could be, and you only could think of one suspect: Sans. Or maybe you just liked the idea of Sans asking someone for your number. You decided to humor them. " _What is updog ?_ " You sent the text, glad you could at least make one person's day,

" _nothing much, what's up with you?_ "

You rolled your eyes as your phone lit up again.

_"i can't believe you fell for that, _____"_

Sans. It was Sans. It had to be, right? You figured that if you used his name in the next text, you'd get an answer. Your fingers were fast, tapping against your screen in quick little motions. " _Thanks, Sans, but at least it wasn't ahenfor_ " you sent the message, grinning at your screen.

" _what is ahenfor_?"

Not sure if he genuinely didn't know, or if he just was humoring you, you quickly sent a reply. At least you knew it was Sans now. " _It's for laying eggs, duh"_

His replies seemed to come faster as you sent puns back and forth. Most of them you had heard before, but you'd be lying if you said that you weren't planning on using some of them later. Eventually you had to tell him that you had work to do, and you were actually surprised when you saw his next message.

" _alright, alright. what are you doing after? we could grab dinner._ "

Your heart did a flip in your chest, and you had to fight the goofy smile from your face. Was he asking you on a date? _Play it cool_ , you told yourself. " _Just us_?" You knew the question was kind of dumb, but you didn't want to get your hopes up too much.

" _yeah. papyrus is having a sleepover with frisk. still pretty bummed that you couldn't stay over last night."_

" _You or Papyrus?_ " Your hit send before you could really question it. Did this count as flirting?

" _both_ "

You felt your stomach do a flip, and put your phone away. You'd text him after work.

___________

  
When you checked your phone again, there was a string of texts from Sans.

" _sorry, was that weird?"_

_"if you don't want to have dinner, you can just say."_

_"right, you're at work."_

_"dinner would be cool though. so cool."_

You felt bad for making him think that you were turning him down, and quickly sent him a text telling him that dinner would be great. You'd be home in about ten minutes, but you'd need to change first.

He just replied, " _cool_ "

Your heart wasn't racing when you got home. You weren't excited. And you definitely didn't a have a huge, stupid grin on your face. God, you were such a dork.

"Okay, okay. What do you wear for a not date?" You asked yourself, looking in your small closet. At first, you tried to grab a band shirt, but decided against it. What did you have that was nice? Then you saw it- it wasn't much, but it was one of the few things you owned that didn't have stains on it from cooking. The shirt was a beautiful shade of red violet, and the bottom an intricate, laced design. You didn't wear it often, just because it was a gift from your mom. You took the shirt off of its hanger, and grabbed a pair of black leggings. You got dressed quickly, and then fixed your makeup before stepping out of your apartment.

Sans dodged your door, his hand still stretched out, about to knock. You looked at each other in shock, before you started giggling.  
"Oh my god, I am so sorry." You bit your lip, trying not to laugh more.

He let out a chuckle of his own, " s'all good. you ready?" You couldn't help but look the skeleton over. He was wearing what he always wore; a blue coat and basketball shorts. It was kind of an odd choice, but you thought that his old converse matched the rest of his outfit better than the pink slippers he wore yesterday.

You nodded and followed him out of the building. "So, where are we going, exactly?" you asked him, kicking a rock with the tip of your boot.

"figured I'd take you to my favorite bar. It just opened up, but we had one just like it in the Underground." His face seemed to darken when he talked about the Underground, but you understood why. You wouldn't want to talk about something like that either.

"You're taking me to a bar? Geez Sans, you're not trying to get me drunk, are you?" you teased, grinning at him.

"nah, grillbz just makes really great fries. burgers too." Sans nodded to himself, rounding the corner with you close behind. You walked a few blocks in silence before he spoke up again. "you know, i only asked you out so i could get a few more of those cookies."

When you looked over at him, you saw that he had that shit eating grin plastered onto his face. You sighed, rolling your eyes as you spoke, "Oh, really? Guess I should just head back then." You turned jokingly, beginning to walk away before you felt his phalanges around your wrist. Sans stopped you dead in your tracks. His bones were surprisingly warm.

"it was a joke-" he started, before hearing you laugh.

"No, no, I know. It's okay. " you smiled back at him, but he didn't let go. "Really, Sans, I'm not leaving." You pulled your hand away from him, turning back to walk with him.

When you pulled your hand away, Sans' smile twitched, but you didn't really notice. After another block, he turned to you, nodding to a large neon sign. The big, orange letters read NEW GRILLBY'S. It sounded very... Original. Sans walked by the bouncer, and the two of you walked through the doors.

You jumped when the string of voices yelled out your friend's name, several of the monsters cheering. He made a small wave before making his way forward to the bar. You looked over the room; it was fairly roomy, with both tables and booths. The place was very warm and cozy, and you even saw a jukebox in the corner. New Grillby's was filled with monsters, but you thought that you spied a few humans among the crowd. A few monsters stared at you, but it didn't last long. You followed Sans, and sat next to him at the bar. You studied the bar, and all of the glasses and bottles behind it. It took you a while to notice the source of all of the heat. In front of you, there was a monster in a sleek, fitting outfit. He was dressed in a button-up, long-sleeved, white shirt with a black vest over top of it. Oh, and he was made of fire. The bartender nodded to Sans, and then seemed to eye you. You're not sure how you knew, since you couldn't see any eyes behind the glasses he somehow wore on his face.

Sans nodded back, and then to you. "grillby, this is ______. ______, this is grillby. if you ask me, he's pretty hot." The skeleton wiggled his nonexistent eyebrows at you, and you couldn't help but grin.

"Yeah, he's pretty smokin'" you looked up to the man of fire to see him blushing. Or at least, you thought it was blushing. His face had turned blue where his cheeks would have been, and the flames at the top of his head grew.

Your friend laughed, low and deep. "i'll have the usual."

Grillby nodded, and then looked at you, tilting his head to the side. You assumed he was asking you what you wanted. "Well, Sans was singing praises for your burgers and fries, so I think I'll go for that." His flames seemed to raise again, and he quickly exited through a door behind the bar.

You spun on your bar stool, facing Sans. He was already looking at you, and you felt your cheeks turn pink. "Can I ask a question?"

"you just did, kid." His grin only grew, and by now you knew not to question it.

Ignoring him, you continued, "Did you actually fall for ahenfor?"

He spun on his stool to see you better. "did you fall for updog?"

"Not really. I went to 8th grade."

Sans seemed a bit hurt, or maybe it was surprised. "yeah, i hadn't heard it before. can i ask you a question?"

You grinned, repeating his words, "You just did."

The skeleton rolled his eyes at you, watching Grillby as he sat down your plates. "what's with all the patriotism around lately? and all of those firework things?"

"Oh, duh, of course, you don't know. It's Independence Day stuff, to like, celebrate when we got our independence from Great Britain. And a lot of people shoot off fireworks, which are these little rockets filled with chemicals that shoot into the sky and then show pretty colors." You laughed awkwardly, knowing that your description wasn't very good.

"so, it's a holiday?" Sans asked, tilting his skull to the side while he poured ketchup on top of his fries.

"Yeah, basically. Usually I'd shoot off my own fireworks, but seeing as we're in the city," you drifted off, making a face when you saw that his plate was now mostly ketchup. "Well, I hear that the city puts on a really good show."

The skeleton nodded, picking up one of his fries and eating it. "i heard that people have parties."

You nodded again, picking up a fry of your own, but dipping it into his plate, your face smug. He shot you a glare, but his features quickly softened. He was made of bones. Seriously, how did that work?

"Mhm. We should watch them together. It'd be fun." You began eating your fries, occasionally stealing ketchup from Sans' plate.

"not sure we could really see it from the apartment." Your new friend glanced over at you, watching as you licked your lips. This was definitely the best meal you had had in a while.

"We could go to the park. That's usually where they shoot them off anyways. I remember there being this huge hill, we could have a picnic and everything. I bet Paps would love it." You were too focused on your burger to notice his smile droop.

"sounds nice. as long as you bring those cookies."

You swallowed your last bite, then grinning at him. "Only if you give me more sugar." Sans' smile grew, and your face quickly turned red. "I-I didn't mean-"

"all you have to do is ask, _____." Sans practically purred. Your only reaction was to laugh. A lot. You buried your face in your hands, but he could see your smile between your fingers.

Eventually, you calmed down. Sans teased you every once and a while, but the rest of the night went smoothly. You managed not to die of embarrassment. You had agreed on getting together at the end of the week for the 4th of July.

On the walk home, you noticed that Sans was walking closer than before. Neither of you said much, but you both were looking at the sky. Sans seems enraptured, his eyes glossed over. You, however, weren't nearly as excited. The sky was so much different here. There weren't as many stars. But when you looked over at him, your breath caught in your throat. He looked really, truly happy. You bumped his hip with your own to get his attention, and quietly hoped that you could somehow compare to sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this must get old, but I can never thank you guys enough for all of the kudos and comments, and even for just reading it. Seeing you all enjoying this makes me so happy. And just so you know, if I'm not replying to your comment, that doesn't mean I'm not reading it. I just figure it'd get annoying for all of you if I was to comment on every one. Also apparently you guys like flirty sans. You're welcome.


	5. Hot Cats (and Skeletons)

The rest of the week went without a hitch. You had started practicing a new dance that you'd teach a class next week, you finished moving in, and you bought a few things to spruce up your apartment. And of course, you texted the skelebros regularly. You didn't see them quite as often now that you were working, but you had managed to have supper with them again. You had shown Papyrus the glories of having garlic bread that night. By now, you knew that the brothers actually shared the apartment. You had thought that papyrus must have owned the one on the right side of the hall, but it was clear that he didn't when Sans went to read him a bedtime story. It was also pretty clear it didn't belong to Papyrus when you caught a monster with a bright purple tail slinking into the apartment one morning. You made a mental note to get to know your other neighbors, too.

But now it was the Fourth of July. Saying you were excited would be an understatement. It had been so long since you had seen the city's firework show. You must have been 5 or 6, but you still remembered it in vivid detail. Your best memories were always in the city. You spent most of the day dancing around your new home to music that was probably too loud. No one came to tell you to turn it down, so you kept playing it while you baked cookies. They wouldn't be quite as good when they weren't fresh, but you still had to get ready afterwards, and then the brothers were coming over for supper, before you all headed off.

Once the cookies were all done, you still had a good 2 hours left until dinner. You decided to hop into the shower, bringing your speakers into the bathroom with you. Fall Out Boy blasted through your home, along with your voice. When you stepped out of your shower, you rushed quickly to your room to get changed. You put on one of your million band shirts, a stereotypical Nirvana tee, and a pair of leggings. Man, was your style simple or what.

Just when you were about to sit down and do your makeup, your phone died, cutting off your music. Why hadn't you thought to charge it? You sighed and got up to go plug it into the charger. When you walked into the living room to do so, you saw Sans leaning against your door. You jumped, letting out a small squeak.

"heh, sorry kid. didn't mean to make you jump out of your skin."

You quickly nodded, fumbling for your charger. "It's all good. Just didn't expect to- wait, how are you even in here?"

His grin seemed a bit more sheepish than usual, you noticed when you glared at him. "unlocked. came to eat all the cookies."

Rolling your eyes at him, you plugged in your phone. "You know, if you keep talking like that I'm going to start believing you." You walked into your kitchen, picking up a cookie for yourself.

"nah, i was gonna ask why your music was so loud. i'm starting to learn the words to some of those songs." Sans grabbed a cookie for himself, eating it quickly. "why did you make these so early, anyways?"

"You know I have a great taste in music. And I needed time to get ready." You pulled yourself up to sit on the kitchen counter, swinging your legs. "It takes time to look this good." you said jokingly.

Sans shrugged, already grabbing another cookie. "you always look good."

Your face turned a bright shade of pink, and you quickly hopped off of the counter to go to your room. "Oh, whatever. You're so full of it." He followed you, hovering in your doorway. Was it okay for him to come in? You looked up to him and grinned, still trying to stop your cheeks from flaring up. "Sans, really? You can walk into my apartment without warning, but now you hesitate?"

The skeleton took that as an invitation to come in, plopping himself down on your bed. "just didn't know if you'd want me in here, s'all."

You shrugged at him, sitting in front of your mirror and spilling out the contents of your makeup bag, starting on your foundation. "You're one of my best friends, why would I not be okay with it?" You raised an eyebrow, looking at him in your mirror.

Sans shifted on the mattress, studying you. "so we're best friends now?"

"Well, yeah, I guess." You bit your lip, trying not to think about how he was staring at you. "Oh! Hey, I didn't really know what you guys eat, besides spaghetti, so I bought so of those hot cat things for supper." You hoped that this would change the conversation, just as much as you hoped that hot cats were the same as hot dogs.

Sans looked surprised, leaning over to put his elbows on his knees. "really?" When you nodded, he let out a deep laugh. God, you loved that sound.

You smiled back at him, shuffling through your supplies before picking out your mascara. "I'm flattered, really."

Your cru- erm, friend, your friend jumped when you went to apply your mascara. You laughed at him, shaking your head. "Relax, I'll be fine as long as I don't jump." You didn't notice him stand up as you went back you your makeup.

"how can you do that? it looks painful, if you ask me."

"Practice?" You offered, looking up at him. He had that look on his face- the one he always had when he wanted to ask a million questions. "You get used to it, really." He reminded you of a scientist sometimes, the way he observed things and always had questions. Or maybe he was like a little kid.

You finished your makeup, and only had to answer an occasional question from Sans. At one point, he had left the room for another cookie. He hadn't come back yet, so you exited your room to find him. The skeleton was sat on your couch, watching the news. You looked up at the screen- there was a reporter, talking about how most everyone was denying fireworks to monsters. It wasn't really that big of a deal, you thought, but the look on Sans' face told you otherwise.

"It's kind of cruel, yknow?" You said to him, walking into the room. Sans' skull whipped around to face you. "You guys are only trying to participate, to join us in our celebrations." You sat next to him, and he scooted closer.

"why are there so few of you?" He asked, his browbone furrowed.

"What do you mean?" You asked, turning to face him.

The skeleton met your gaze, but the whites of his eyes were much darker than usual, almost nonexistent. His eyes quickly lowered, seeming to stare through you. His eyes lit up a bit more, but his smiled seemed so forced. "humans like you, ones that care. ones that don't just scoff and turn us away."

There's was a moment of silence between you. You weren't sure what to say to that. Was it really that bad for him? For Papyrus? For all monsters? You almost felt pulled towards him, like something inside of you just wanted to reach out and help. You couldn't help but wrap him up in a big, warm hug. He slowly wrapped his boney arms around you, and buried his skull in your neck. All you wanted to do was make him feel better, but a hug was the best you could think to do.

You let out a small huff of air before giving him one last squeeze and pulling away. "Hey, why don't we get supper started?"

Sans nodded, seeming much more relaxed. He shut off the tv and stood up. "can't wait to see you eat your first hot cat."

You followed after him, but made it to the cookies before he could. "Seriously, Sans. Save some for later!" You laughed, but it came out sounding very half-hearted.

"i'm gonna go get paps, be right back." Before you could turn around, he was already gone. Eventually you'd figure out how he did that, right?  
You put what cookies Sans hadn't eaten yet into a Ziplock Baggie, and hid them in a drawer.

Of course, as soon as he was in your apartment, Papyrus immediately greeted you with a huge hug, spinning you around like always. You'd nearly grown accustomed to the dizziness that always ensued.

"HUMAN! ARE YOU READY TO GO AND VIEW THE FIREWORKS?" Papyrus was even louder than normal, and was practically shaking with excitement.

"After supper, okay?" You laughed when he pouted, and you could hear Sans laughing with you.

The three of you made a simple dinner of hot cats and french fries, though Sans complained that they weren't near as good as Grillby's. There were a lot of laughs (and groans on Papyrus' part,) exchanged. The most laughs must have been when you heard the meowing in your mouth. You had nearly spat out the hot cat, terrified. Sans explained why it happened, though very scientifically, and you started to enjoy them more.

By the time everyone finished eating, you felt that Papyrus was going to explode like one of the fireworks. You grabbed the cookies, and at the last second, you thought to grab I few blankets from your closet before the three of you left for the park.

You opted to drive everyone there, and found a parking spot fairly easy. You knew the walk would take a while, but you also knew that it would be totally worth it. Sans didn't seem to be as close to you as he normally would be, but he also seemed to be trudging behind you and Papyrus. The taller of the skeletons kept complaining about the lack of spaghetti In human meals.

"BUT HUMAN! YOU NEED THREE PLATES OF SPAGHETTI A DAY!"

You looked at him, bewildered. "Wait, Paps, do you really eat that much spaghetti?" The skeleton nodded, and you quickly shook your head, "No, oh my god. You know there's more than just spaghetti, right?" You turned to Sans, "Why does he only know how to make spaghetti?"

Sans shrugged, but he took his chance to fall into step with you. "he always liked it. so he learned to make it himself."

"And, what about you?" You eyed him, trying to look suspicious, but you were bursting with questions. Could he cook? If so, what could he make? Does he always drink ketchup because he can't cook?

"paps never really enjoyed my cooking, so I stopped. 'sides, paps' spaghetti is the best."

Papyrus "NYEH HEH HEH"d triumphantly, and began walking in front of you and Sans. You didn't think he was doing it on purpose, his legs were just so much longer than yours.

On your way up the hill, that you had begun to think of more as a mountain, you stole a few glances at Sans. You had hours to spend with him, you could look at him whenever you wanted. But still, you always quickly looked away, hoping that he wasn't on to you. At one point, you looked at him again, but you were surprised to see him already looking at you. His skull turned a bright shade of blue, and your cheeks quickly turned pink. You both looked away, too sheepish to say anything.

You were so focused on the grass that you didn't notice Papyrus stop in front of you. Well, you noticed, but only as you ran face-first into him. You lost your balance, and begin to quickly fall backwards. At the last second, a boney arm grabbed your waist, pulling you upright.

"jeez kid, i know you're falling for me, but i didn't think id have to catch you."  
You looked up at Sans, your face turning an even darker shade of pink, probably red at this point.

Papyrus looked between you too, but didn't seem to mind. "AS I WAS SAYING, HUMAN. I BELIEVE WE ARE FINALLY AT OUR DESTINATION!" The skeleton seemed so happy, and you almost wondered what it was like to be so optimistic all of the time. However, you were preoccupied with thoughts of a certain neighbor's arm, still around your waist.

"Um, yeah, right." You slipped out of Sans' grasp, which you were very reluctant to do. Finding a fairly flat place on the ground, you layer out two of the blankets. You sat down, and Papyrus sat on the blanket to the right of you. Sans chose sit on your left, which surprised both you and Paps. The younger skeleton seemed to know something you didn't, but before you could ask, the fireworks started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, you're welcome for that cliffhanger. I wasn't expecting this chapter to be so lengthy, so I had to cut in short. Didn't want to stick you guys with a 3000 word chapter. The next chapter may be short, so fair warning!
> 
> And, of course, thank you all so fucking much for your nice words and kudos. Ugh, I love you all.
> 
> (Ps- if anyone cares, you could get ahold of me at centerofprocrastination.tumblr.com)


	6. Baby, You're a Firework

You watched as the first rocket went up into the sky. You bit your lip, waiting to see the brothers reactions. There was a boney hand on your arm suddenly, as the firework sizzle through the air. Then, the firework popped, sending a loud noise and white sparks through the sky. Sans' grip harshened, and you heard Papyrus make a noise somewhere between a scream and a squeak. The larger of the skeletons dove behind you, curling into a ball. But your eyes were trained on Sans.

He suddenly didn't remind you of a scientist anymore, or even of a little kid. He reminded you of the Halloween decorations of black cats, with their backs arched and their eyes startled. He looked more than frazzled; he was petrified. The skeleton's grip on your arm almost stung, but it was the only thing keeping him grounded. His eyes were even bigger than usual as he stared up at the sky. His eyes moved to look at you, and he looked ready to bolt, to run, to get away.

You realized that you needed to say something, anything to relax the brothers. To calm Sans. There was another crackle in the sky and you heard Papyrus yip. "Hey, no, no, guys it's okay. It's fine. Look, they make pretty colors. They're far away from us. You can't get hurt." You felt that same pulling in your chest from earlier, and broke your gaze from Sans, to look at his younger brother as more words spilled from your mouth, "This is perfectly safe. I wouldn't bring you here if they weren't. You guys trust me, don't you?"

At that, Papyrus looked up to you, then the sky as yet another rocket went off. "Y-YES... BUT W-WHY MUST THEY BE SO LOUD?" He looked back to you. He had that same look he did when the movers had driven away. You hated it.

"Just the way they are Paps. Come on, you'll be alright." You smiled weakly at the skeleton, but it was enough to scramble from behind you, and back to his blanket.

You turned your eyes back to Sans. He still looked unnerved, but he let go of your arm. You went to let out a sigh of relief, but before you could, his arm slipped around your back, and before you knew it your side was pressed against his. He was colder than usual.

You moved an arm and reached for him, and he flinched away. At first you stopped, but after a second he looked calm. You pressed your hand to his skull, pulling his jaw up to face you. There was a moment where you forgot what was going on, and you stroked your thumb over his cheekbone. "Hey..." You spoke softly. Always a poet. "You're okay. Papyrus is okay."

"you're okay, too?" His voice was so much softer than you had ever heard it, but he sounded breathless all the same.

Your face flushed. The way he said it, like you were one of his priorities. Like he cared for you. "Yeah, I'm okay." You turned back to the fireworks, but you soon felt something against your cheek. It was almost cold, and you could have sworn they were...

Teeth. Sans was pressing his teeth to your cheek, in a pseudo kiss. As soon as you had noticed, he was pulling away. The skeleton still sat next to you, pressed to your side with his arm around your waist, but that was nothing now. What he had just done was definitely..... It was something. God, it almost felt as good as dancing.

Sans' smile seemed to come back to life, and he hugged your side, burying his face into your shoulder. You could hear him mumble something, but his words were too muffled to make out.

And so you stayed like that, for a long time. Papyrus made the occasional "ooh" and "ahh," commenting on the fireworks he particularly liked. You were so glad when you saw that he had stopped flinching. Sans had eventually pulled away from you, but still sat close. He had finally calmed down, and once he saw the colors in the sky, he was in awe. You rested your head on his shoulder, which was actually pretty comfortable, considering he was made out of bones. The smaller skeleton had remembered the cookies, and before you had noticed that he had them, they were almost all gone.

"You act like no one feeds you." Rolling your eyes at the skeleton, you grabbed the baggie from him and handed it to Papyrus.

"i just need to put some meat on my bones." he laughed at his own joke, and his brother groaned.

"THAT ONE WASN'T EVEN FUNNY, SANS."

You shook your head and went back to watching the fireworks.

When the finale started, you joined Papyrus in his "ohh"s. It was spectacular- There were so many colors, so many shapes. Some were red, white, and blue, of course. But there were also green and purple and yellow. But, like all things, the show came to an end.

The three of you stood, gathering the blankets. As you walked back to your car, Papyrus recollected the displays he particularly liked.

"AND THE CRACKLY ONES THAT LOOKED LIKE STARS? I BET METTATON WOULD HAVE REALLY LIKED THOSE." He nodded decisively. Why did that name sound familiar?  
"Oh!" You looked at Papyrus excitedly, remembering the musical that you had seen. "I saw him on TV, I think. He danced very well."

Sans scoffed. "i change my mind, paps. she can't come over."

You looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean I can't come over? Since when was I coming over?"

Papyrus cleared his throat, his cheeks tinted orange. You could have sworn that Sans was blushing too, but it was difficult to see in the dark. "I WAS GOING TO REQUEST THAT YOU JOIN US FOR A MOVIE NIGHT."

"A movie night?"

The large skeleton nodded, "SANS SAID THAT YOU DIDN'T HAVE WORK TOMORROW, SO YOU WOULDN'T BE BUSY."

You let out a quiet laugh. Was it odd that Sans knew your work schedule already? You'd never even talked about what you did, but the the two of you texted often during work. "I'd love to come over, Pap."

  
His smile grew, and he flung his long, boney arms around you, wrapping you in a tight hug. "TERRIFIC! I HAVE ALL OF METTATON'S FILMS, I'M CERTAIN THAT YOU WILL LOVE THEM AS MUCH AS I DO!"

Sans grunted again, and Papyrus shot him a look. There was definitely something going on here, but you felt that it wasn't really your place to ask. You all loaded up into your car, and you drove back to the apartment building you now called home.

  
________

"THIS ONE, THIS ONE IS MY FAVORITE." Papyrus slid in the first dvd. He had already claimed 5 other movies as his 'favorite,' too.

You sat back on the old green couch, sinking into the cushions. Sans plopped down next to you, and you moved towards the arm rest to make room for Papyrus on the couch. The shorter skeleton made a face- you couldn't really call it a frown, but it must have been his version of one. Papyrus sat on the floor in front of you, leaning forward, the remote clutched in his gloved hand.

Oh. Sans hadn't been making room for his brother, he was just... What was he doing? There was plenty of room on the couch, so why had he been so close? Then again, the two of you had just been, well, did it count as cuddling?

You flushed and looked towards him, and were met with a stern gaze. You instantly turned an even brighter shade of red. He couldn't be flirting with you. Maybe monsters were just touchy-feely with friends.

"ive already told you, i don't bite."

"Yeah, I know, I know." You smiled at him and scooted over until your hip bumped his. "So what's your problem with Mettaton?" Before you could get your answer, Papyrus shushed you, and soon turned up the volume.

The movies weren't that great, but they weren't bad either. All of the songs were choreographed beautifully, even if everything else was pretty tacky. It must have been 3 in the morning before you fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shorter chapter, you guys. But, hey, it was longer than I thought it would be!
> 
> By the way, you all should check out Raybird99  
> She has this amazing fic, Undertwists. It's so much better than mine, honestly. It actually has a plot and stuff. Plus, if it wasn't for her, this story wouldn't be where it is, or where it's going. She's always helping when I'm stuck, and I could never thank her enough.
> 
> And, as always, thank you guys so much. Seeing how many of you have read and liked and commented, it, yknow, fills me with determination.


	7. Gettin Catty

Coffee. God, you needed coffee. You hadn't even opened your eyes, hadn't even fully woken up, but you knew you needed coffee. How long had you slept? Well, apparently it wasn't long enough. But you could tell that it was too late to go back to bed.

Speaking of bed, yours was particularly warm. You pressed back into it, smiling at the warmth. The solidity of what was behind you was surprising, but it didn't stop you from backing into it more. Why did it feel so bumpy?

He gave out a grunt when you pressed into him the second time. Oh. This wasn't your bed. This wasn't your apartment, even. But there was an arm around your waist again, and you were cuddled up with a skeleton. You could stay here for hours.

Coffee.

You finally opened your eyes, looking around. Papyrus wasn't on the floor anymore, and instead there was a sticky note on the coffee table. You looked down, seeing Sans' arm around you. He must have taken his hoodie off; you could see all of the bones in his arm. It was oddly heavy, but you figured that you could slip away easily.

You were wrong. You were very, very wrong. Every time you moved to get away, his grip tightened. You decided to give it one last shot, pulling at his arm.

"Saaans," you whined. He wrapped his arm around you even more tightly, and pulled you closer. You let out a gasp, not expecting the sudden sensation of, well, bones.

"five more minutes, babe."

You squeaked, dropping his arm. Babe? "S-Sans, c'mon. Please?" You were tempted to stay, to curl up with him for a few more hours. But damn, you could practically hear the coffee calling your name. And did you really want to stay around for an awake Sans? There's no way that he wouldn't tease you over this.

So, you decided to wiggle your way from under his arm. It was easy after you managed to sit up. You slipped your legs out from under his arm too, and hopped off of the couch. You quickly slipped on your boots, and closed the door behind you.

You jumped when you saw the monsters in front of you. Of course, you knew you had other neighbors, but this was the first time you had really seen them. One of the monsters seemed to notice your presence, turning their head to face you. It was the one you caught a glimpse of before- She-was it a she?- had beautiful purple fur, and pointy ears on top of her head. One of them was pierced, and when she opened her mouth, you could see the sharp teeth.

"Omg! Bratty, look! That human is like, totally coming from the Skelebros! _Scandal_ ~" the monster purred the last part, her voice raising.

The other monster turned to face you as you stood there in shock. This one couldn't be any more different; green and scaly, with blonde, curly locks. "Oh my God, Catty! You can't just talk about people in front of them!"

The two monsters locked eyes, and then looked at you. You shrank back a little, smiling awkwardly. "Um, hey. You're the neighbors, right? Sorry, I've been meaning to say hello."

"So, like," the green monster started again. She reminded you of an alligator. "You live with the skeletons?"

You couldn't help but laugh, relaxing a bit. "Oh, God, no. I'm across the hall." you motioned to your door.

"I told you, Bratty!" The cat put her hands on her hips, turning towards her roommate. "That music had nothing to do with Sans! He would never listen to something so alternative." Ouch. That kinda hurt.

The two monsters bickered for a moment, but they were smiling. How long did you have to stand here? All you wanted was coffee.

"Oh! Oh my god, Catty, we totally forgot to introduce ourselves!"

They turned towards you, grinning.

"I'm Bratty, and this is my best friend, Catty."

"I'm Catty, and this is my best friend, Bratty."

They were in perfect unison, like they had practiced a million times.

"I'm _____." You shifted on your feet awkwardly, not wanting to be rude. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but-" you were about to excuse yourself, when Catty interrupted you.

"We're, like, going to Starbucks right now. You should totally come and hang out!"

It was like the cat monster had read your mind. You let out a sigh of relief, nodding your head. "I was going there too. I'm gonna die if I don't get some coffee soon." you joked, but the monsters looked frightened, worried even. "Just an expression."

The two girls smiled at you as you walked up to them. Well, trudged up to them. That couch really did a number on your back- or maybe it was the fact that you had been pressed against a rib cage all night. You tried to not blush at the memory. And the way you had pressed against him... You shivered. Part of you hoped that he was too sleepy to remember what happens. But the other part of you, it hoped that he remembered, that he loved that situation as much as you had.

On your walk to the coffee shop, you learned why you hadn't seen the monsters yet. They were almost always working, trying to pay rent. Apparently Bratty was in school, and Catty volunteered at an animal shelter. You thought it was funny that a cat would be taking care of cats. The idea of helping out at the local shelter sounded nice though.

They asked you how you knew the brothers, and you told them how you met. You were kind of embarrassed as you recounted everything, but it was nothing compared to Catty's teasing about Sans. Bratty soon started drilling you with questions, and you couldn't believe it was so obvious that you liked him. Is that the first time you had admitted it? You had a frigging crush on a skeleton.

You walked into the Starbucks, noticing it wasn't quite as nice as the others you had seen. Maybe it was just old. Bratty and Catty waved to the monster in front of the register, and he waved back. He did a double take of you, and he quickly stood up straighter, appearing on edge. You smiled up at him, admiring his blue fur. Did all monsters' fur seem so perfect?

"Hey, NC! Like, hook us up with some totally sweet coffee, would you?" Catty asked the bunny.

The monster- NC? nodded, turning around to whip up the drinks, as if he had done it a million times before. The girls sat down by a window, but you lingered near the cash register. When the blue monster noticed you staring, he jumped, his ears perking.

"O-oh! I'm sorry, you wanted something too, didn't you?" He sat the finished coffees on the counter, and Bratty quickly slipped him the money. That was kind of weird, to pay afterwards.

"It's fine, really." You reached for your pocket, only to have your hand slip away on your pants. Leggings. You weren't wearing a jacket, either. It must still be at Sans'. You didn't have your wallet. And now, you couldn't have coffee either.

"Just put it on Sans' tab!" Bratty grinned at you, sending you a wink.

The barista looked back and forth between you and the other monsters, looking perplexed. "But Sans isn't even-"

"That's his girlfriend." The alligator-like monster looked so smug. Then again, so did her best friend.

"Yeah, they're like, totally in love and everything," Catty purred.

You couldn't do much but stutter and blush. You tried to argue, but the bunny just smiled at you, seeming much happier with your presence.

"What can I get for you?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. One of his ears bent over, and he quickly fixed it, blushing himself.

"Just a latte, please." You were still flustered, and you hated the thought of adding to someone's tab, but you could just pay Sans back when you got home.

The barista wasted no time making your drink, and soon you were sat down with you animal-like neighbors, and more importantly, your coffee.

"So," Catty started, her lips still curled in a smile, "you didn't deny him being your boyfriend."

You gave a small shrug, staring at your cup. "Just wanted the coffee. It wasn't a big deal."

"It is _totally_ a big deal!" Bratty squealed, locking eyes with Catty.

"She's totally crushing!" They said together, giggling.

All you wanted was some coffee. You enjoyed their company, they were nice, but... Who even knew if Sans liked you back? Besides, he was a monster, and you were a human. He probably didn't like people as... fleshy as you.

Apparently, your brooding was noticeable, because Catty poked you in the arm. "Hey, you like, left your wallet at his place, right?" You nodded, taking a drink of your latte. "You should go see him, I'm sure he'd totally be happy to see you."

"And then.." Bratty started. Oh no.

"You should totally kiss him!" they sang together. How did they even do that?

You nearly spat out your drink, but managed to swallow it before shaking your hand violently in front of you. "No, no, I couldn't, really. He probably doesn't even like me!"

The best friends looked at each other again, before Bratty spoke up. "There's like, no way he doesn't have a wicked crush on you."

"Like, go for it!" Catty stood, grabbing her cup. "Come on girl, you're so gonna kiss him!"

The two monsters pushed you out of the Starbucks, giving a brief goodbye to the blue bunny behind the counter. On the way to your apartments, they promised to hang out again. They quickly asked for your number, and as soon as the elevators opened on the fourth floor, they pushed you to Sans' door. Bratty quickly knocked on the door, and the two girls ran into their apartment, but not before Catty yelled "Get some!"

You tried to collect yourself as best as you could before the door opened.

It was Sans, and he looked, well, awake. Much more awake than he usually did before noon. "_____?" He asked, sounding shocked.

Laughing awkwardly, you brushes a hand through your hair. You must look like shit. "I forgot my jacket this morning, sorry."

Now that you looked at him again, he looked... Different. Not just awake, but more than that, he looked worried. Regretful? Oh no, did he regret this morning? "oh, yeah, come in." The skeleton opened the door for you, stepping back. "i, uh, didn't think you'd be back."

The hell? Why would you be avoiding Sans? It took you a moment to understand as you stepped in, heading towards the couch where your jacket was. He thought that you had ditched him, that you got out as soon as you could.

"I just needed some coffee, no big deal. Speaking of which, " you grabbed the wallet out of the pocket of your jacket, grabbing a few dollars. You turned to hand it to him, and jumped back when you saw how close he was.

"you weren't answering your.." Sans' eyes moved to your jacket, and he sighed. "of course. your phone was here." He hit his forehead with hit palm, or at least, his fingers. "sorry, sorry, i just thought..." The skeleton faltered again, nearly frowning as he looked at the floor.

"Hey, what? No, oh my god, no!" You grabbed his face in your hands, making him look at you, but quickly dropped your hands as you remembered last night. "Really, I just wanted coffee. We're good. We're great, actually." The words slipped from your mouth before you could process them. "Well, I mean, I think it's great. You don't have to though, I'd totally understand."

His sudden laugh startled you, but you didn't jump away this time. "kid, you're fine." Ouch. You were still just 'kid'? "what's with the cash?" He nodded to your hand, and you gave him the money.

"I didn't have money this morning, so Bratty told the barista to put it in your tab."

Sans chuckled again, putting the money back in your hand. "'s on me. but next time i pay for your drinks, let's make sure it's a real date."

His words surprised both of you a bit. A date? Like a date date? You grabbed your jacket, sliding it on over your shoulders.

"Well, I better get out of your hai- um, skull?" You stepped towards his door as he laughed at you. In a moment of bravery, or maybe stupidity, you turned back to him. "One more thing," you kissed his cheek and before he could react, you ran. "Bye!"

You slammed your door behind you, breathing heavily. Had you really just done that? You had. Holy shit, you kissed him. Well, his cheek, but still. You got some!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm about to hit 1000 hits???? And almost 100 kudos??? Where did all of you guys come from?   
> You guys are so great, thank you sosososososo much. See y'all next chapter!


	8. Sorry not Sorry

That just happened. You just did that. And it had felt amazing. As soon as your lips had touched him, you had felt a wave of something go over you. It was so hard to explain, to put the sensation into words. At first you felt cold, but then you were warm all over. Fuzzy, even. Like it could fix anything that had ever been wrong. But the butterflies- they were something else entirely.

How long has it been since you had felt butterflies? You had vague memories, but none of them even compared to what you had just felt. Not even close. Everything had happened so quickly, but those butterflies, that tingly sensation in your stomach, that stayed.

You got up from your spot on the floor. You had sunk to the ground after you slammed the door, too flustered to really do anything. _Just breathe_ , you told yourself. This wasn't that big of a deal, right? He had done the same thing last night. People did that all of the time, right?

Bratty and Catty were right, you were _so_ crushing.

Reaching into your jacket pocket, you grabbed your phone. You saw a couple of texts and calls from Sans, but decided that they would be awkward to listen to now, so you deleted the voicemails. You headed to the kitchen, thinking that some breakfast was definitely in order.

You cooked quickly, just some scrambled eggs, and ate them just as fast. It was when you were washing the dishes that you heard the loud footsteps of Papyrus coming up the stairs. But, it was a bit different this morning. It sounded like there was another, quieter set of footsteps behind him. Would it be rude to go see who was out there?

 _Nah_ , you thought, _besides, I always tell Papyrus good morning_. You went to your front door, opening it just in time to see the white and red flash of Papyrus run by. Wait, why did he look taller? The skeleton quickly spun around, running up to your door. He had a child on his shoulders, and they were both grinning wildly.

"HUMAN! GOOD MORNING! I SEE THAT YOU HAVE ESCAPED MY BROTHER'S EMBRACE!"

You lit up like a Christmas light, and you were just as red as one too. The child on top of his shoulders burst into giggles, and then wiggled their eyebrows at you.

"Oh gosh, you saw that? That must have been so weird, I mean, it was weird for me too, but.."

"NONSENSE, HUMAN! SANS LIKES YOU VERY, VERY MUCH." Papyrus declared, removing the kid from his shoulders and setting them down. "HUMAN, THIS IS FRISK." He nodded to the kid in front of you.

Frisk stuck their hand out for you to shake, and you grabbed it gently. Their handshake was much more firm than you would have guessed, and your surprise must have shown.

There was a giggle from behind the child and skeleton. You looked up, and were shocked when you saw a... Goat? Lady? Your "all monster fur is beautiful" theory may has well been confirmed at this point. In front of you stood another monster, and she was beautiful. Elegant, even. She was huge, even taller than Papyrus. She wore a long, purple dress with intricate designs on the front. She raised a hand- paw? to her mouth to muffle her laughter, quietly speaking.

"Oh, excuse me, dear. I did not mean to intrude." Her voice was so soothing, it immediately calmed you. She looked familiar, but you couldn't really place where you had seen her. She must have been in the news at some point, you guessed.

"No, no, it's fine," you smiled at her, then looked back to Papyrus. "I just thought I'd see what all of the commotion was about."

Frisk waved at Papyrus to get his attention, and then moved his hands about. Was he signing? Not that it was any of your business, but you were still interested. You had taken an ASL class your junior year of high school, and hadn't used it since. So you didn't really understand what Frisk was saying until Papyrus grinned up at you, shouting even louder than usual.

"THAT IS A GREAT IDEA, FRISK! HUMAN, WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME JOIN US FOR PUZZLES?" The skeleton grinned down at you, excitement dancing in his eyes.

The thing is, though, you had just left the skelebros' apartment. About half an hour ago. Would it be okay to go back? You weren't ready to face Sans, but when you looked down to see Frisk looking at you hopefully, you couldn't say no. "Sure, Paps. I can't say no to you."

The skeleton wrapped you in a tight hug, and you felt Frisk hug onto your side too. You couldn't stop the stupid grin that grew onto you face, but you didn't want to, either. They let go of you and scurried into Papyrus' apartment, leaving you to actually introduce yourself to the lovely goat monster.

"I'm _____, it's nice to meet you." You greeted her, after closing and locking your door.

"I am Toriel, Frisk's mother." She nodded to you as she walked through the brothers' open door. Their mom? That was weird, but, hey, if the kid is cool with it, why not?

You walked in after her, closing the door with your foot. Were you already that used to being here? Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Frisk and Papyrus getting out the board games. You searched the room, finally seeing Sans, his hood pulled up.

The small skeleton began to turn, his normal smile on his face. "hey, tor-" he stopped suddenly as he caught your gaze. His skull turned that brilliant shade of blue, and he swiftly pulled the strings of his hoodie, closing off the view of his skull. Was he... embarrassed? You grinned at the thought.

Toriel smiled, looking between you and the skeleton. She walked past you, whispering something to the skeleton before kneeling next to her child to help. What was that about?

You bit your lip, following her path, but stopping in front of Sans. "You okay? I know you don't have lungs, but aren't you gonna suffocate in there?" You asked. He laughed in return, but held onto the strings tightly. You decided to take your chance, and tease _him_ for once. "Jeez, I didn't know I was that bad of a kisser," you whispered to him, "You can't even look me in the face now."

He let out another laugh, but this one sounded almost pained.

"Dang, I thought that one would have at least gotten a reply. I guess you don't have the _guts_ to face me." You knew it was cheap, but hey, a joke is a joke.

Sans finally peaked out of this hood, and you could tell that his whole skull was blue. It had been your favorite color for years, but now, you loved it even more. "did that count as a kiss?"

You weren't expecting that, of all the things he could say, and you fought the urge to blush, to stammer. "Well, yeah, of course?"

The skeleton smirked at you, and you knew you were in for it. Had he just been faking? "then you missed, babe."

That was it. You were done for. Stuttering, you at least managed a reply. "W-who said I was aiming for anything else? And why d-do you keep calling me babe? That's a couple thing." Your argument wasn't very strong, and you both knew it.

"couple thing?"

Why was _that_ what he answered? "Yeah, y'know, couples. People who are dating."

The skeleton looked you over, before pulling his hood back down. He wasn't blushing anymore, and instead was smirking. "cool."

This skeleton would be the death of you. "Cool?" you repeated.

"so cool. sounds fun." What did that even mean?

"What does that-" you stopped mid-sentence as Sans moved almost uncomfortably close. What was with his sudden mood swing?

He spoke quietly, and you could have sworn he was making his voice deeper on purpose. "i'm not gonna miss next time."

"Kay," you squeaked loudly. You turned on your heel, practically running to the others. "Hey, guys, what are we playing? Something fun?" You spoke quickly, the words rushing out of your mouth. Would it be rude to run out again?

"We're deciding between Monopoly and Sorry!," Toriel spoke softly, eyeing Frisk and Papyrus, like they had been "deciding" rather annoyingly.

You thought for a second, wondering which game would be better. You decided that you would rather be six feet under than see Papyrus playing monopoly. So, you nodded to the Sorry! board. "I'd go with Sorry!. Less... Aggravation."

Frisk grinned at you, grabbing the box for Sorry! and running to the dining room. Papyrus, on the other hand, slumped his shoulders in defeat. You and Toriel followed Frisk into the next room, laughing quietly.

"BUT," you could hear the sadness in Papyrus' voice, "SORRY! ONLY HAS FOUR PLAYERS!"

"no problem bro. i'll pair with _____." You turned to face the skeleton, who was already at your side. "we'd make a great team, i think."

Toriel snickered quietly, but you were oblivious. "G-good team?" One of these days you'd stop stuttering. However, today was not that day.

"mhm," Sans hummed, and bumped your hip with his. You had done this to him a million times, so why did it fluster you so much? Maybe you just shouldn't have come back, you knew this was coming. Either way, that shudder that went down your spine when he nudged you, you could definitely get used to that.

You sat down at the table with the others, and Papyrus slowly joined you. Frisk had already set out the board, and was passing out the pieces. Toriel was across the table from you with yellow pieces, Frisk was next to her as green, and Papyrus sat next to you with red pieces. That left you, and Sans, as blue. You grinned when Frisk handed you your pieces, and signed a quick "thank you." You may not have remembered much, but at least you knew that. The kid smiled back, and plopped down in their seat.

Was it weird you were so happy about getting blue? You always asked to be blue, but since you didn't even ask this time, it felt even better. Or maybe you just got blue because it was the color of Sans' jacket. Either way, you were happy.

Frisk pointed to theirself, and then made a circling motion around the table. You assumed that that meant that they would go first, then Papyrus, you, and the then Toriel. Well, you and Sans. You looked at the older skeleton, smiling before setting down your pieces. "We're so winning this, Sans."

_______

It was about halfway through your second game, and you were so not winning. Both you and Papyrus had demanded rematches, which had sent Sans into a fit of snickering.

"didn't think you'd get so heated about the game, _____." He grinned at you lazily, but you could see right through him- literally.

"What's the punchline this time?" You asked, glaring at the board. There was no way you had ever lost _this_ badly.

Sans' smile twitched, but he shrugged it off, leaning in to whisper into your ear. "no punchline, just calling you hot."

You could hear the smirk in voice, and for once, you didn't blush. Instead, you sighed, moving your piece backwards.

Then, you felt his warm, boney hand on your forehead. He flipped it over, touching your face with the other side of his hand, too. "yep, just like i thought, you need to cool down."

The skeleton chuckled, and you could see Toriel trying to hold in her laughter as well. You looked to your right to see Papyrus, who looked slightly worried, and Frisk, who was wiggling their eyebrows.

You grabbed the skeleton's hand, pulling it away from your face. But before you drop his hand, he moved his hand to hold yours. You looked up at him, but the look on his face told you that he wasn't letting go any time soon. Biting your lip, you went back to the game.

  
________

Four games. You lost four games. You lost more games than you probably ever had, and man did it hurt your ego. Sure, you got pretty competitive, but not nearly as much as Papyrus. Still though, four games.

You couldn't complain much, though. It was worth losing, you thought, if Sans kept holding your hand like that. Every time you pulled a bad card, he stroked his thumb over your hand, and every time, it sent a shiver down your spine. You almost wanted to lose at this point. But when you lost that fourth round, you gave up. You couldn't redeem yourself at this point.

"Maybe we should have played Monopoly, instead." You grumbled, as Frisk packed up the game. They had such a smug look on their face too- how did they win four games in a row?

"you would have just gotten free parking all the time," Sans told you, finally breaking the connection of your hands.

"Okay, rude." You glared at him. Was he really gonna rub it in?

"cause you've got _fine_ written all over you." The small skeleton beamed, proud of his joke.

You stood up from the table, acting like you weren't a blushing fool. You grabbed the board game, and took it back to the living room with Frisk. Would that skeleton ever stop teasing? Or was it even teasing this point? He had put his arm around you, kissed your cheek, held your hand, not to mention that morning. And he had called you babe.

That one had really gotten you, both times he said it. At this point, there was no denying that Sans was flirting. He was using pick up lines, even! But he wasn't really saying anything about it. That's what drove you insane.

Frisk tugged on your shirt, and when you looked at them, they signed slowly. You caught a few of the words; something about you, Toriel, and pie? Frisk saw your confusion, and started to act out what looked look like eating.

"she can't, kiddo." Sans spoke from behind you, "we're going on a walk before i go to work." He ruffled Frisk's hair, and the kid grinned, nodding.

"Oh, we are?" You raised an eyebrow at him, "What if I rather hang with Frisk? They're way cooler."

Frisk shook their head, and pushed you towards the door. Sans opened the door, allowing Frisk to nudge you outside. You turned around to protest, but you knew it would be pointless.

Frisk gave Sans a big hug, and then signed something you definitely knew. "I love you!" Sans signed it right back, giving the kid one last squeeze before he left with you.

You couldn't help but clutch at your chest, your heart fluttering. That was so cute. You felt your face flush, and you looked down. Why was that so cute? Why did you feel so... pulled to Sans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahahaha hahahaha this was so bad. Sorry guys. 
> 
> Also, I hit over 1,000 hits, and over 100 kudos???? Thanks you guys so much, you have no idea how happy that makes me.
> 
> You guys can reach me at centerofprocrastination.tumblr.com


	9. Nice Cream on Nice Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy, so much for every 1-3 days. I could make excuses about why this is late, but basically I'm a horrible person. Here's some more fluff.

Sans looked up at you, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "you ready?" he asked, rocking back and forth on his heels.

"I guess so, not that I had any time to prepare."

He grinned at you sheepishly, and began to walk. You quickly caught up, falling into step with him easily. The two of you were out of the building before he spoke up again.

"you don't mind, do you? that i said you'd walk me," he urged, nudging a rock with his slipper.

"Nah, I like walks. Especially walks with you." It was out of your mouth before you really had time to think. You hoped that Sans would just brush it off, but you knew him better than that. You knew him.

"it's not much. just a nice cream stand." Or at least, you thought you did.

You looked to him, eyebrows raised. "What?"

Sans cleared his throat, even though it was pointless. "my work. we never really talked about it." You hated the way he stared at the ground, like a scolded puppy. After a moment of silence, he continued on. "i have a few jobs, part they're all part time. so, uh, what about you?"

"Dance teacher. Well, I am now, anyways. I used to work at the local grill, back home." You chewed the inside of your cheek, wondering why he looked so... Ashamed.

"woah, really?" He looked up at you, suddenly. Sans seemed to change emotions suddenly, looking almost awestruck.

"Um, yeah? I didn't cook though, and even if I did, I could never compare to Grillby, so don't get your hopes up." you joked, stopping to look back at him.

"dude, i dance." Sans sounded more enthusiastic than usual, like he did when Papyrus talked about something he loved.

Wait, Sans could dance? Oh, this was too good to be true. Dancing must have been your favorite thing to do, to talk about, too. You loved it more than anything else, anything you had ever done. The way you felt when you danced, it was like nothing else. It made you feel like everything was right with the world, like nothing else mattered. And it didn't matter how you danced either; it could be just rocking your hips, or doing the tango. It all felt amazing. And now, you could share that feeling with Sans.

Your eyes lit up, and you let out a small gasp, "Really? Oh my God, Sans, you'll have to show me some time!" You grinned excitedly, wondering if he could dance as well as you hoped.

"well , heh, actually, i was gonna ask if you wanted to go dancing sometime?" He scratched the back of his skull with his boney fingers, and he couldn't have looked cuter.

You were too excited by the idea of dancing to even realize his implications. Dancing? And with Sans? Hell yes. "Yes! Of course! Sans you have no id-" you stopped, realizing what the skeleton was asking. "O-oh."

Sans smirked, beginning to walk again. "didn't think you'd be so excited for a date with me, _____."

Date. He said date. That made it official, right?

You laughed awkwardly, and caught up to him again. "I was beginning to think that you'd never ask, y'know. Thinking that maybe you did really only want me for my cookies."

Sans laughed that deep, amazing laugh as he looked at you. You could have sworn you saw something blue behind his teeth, but it was gone as soon as you had noticed. "the stand is right up here." He nodded his head, motioning to the small ice cream stand up the block. Well, the Nice Cream stand.

Following his gaze, you saw the small stand; it wasn't much, but it still looked brand new. The bright red and yellow umbrella stood out against the rest of the city. "It's just ice cream, right? But with a different name?" You asked, curious about the new monster food. If hot cats had shown you anything, it was to expect the unexpected. Which, of course, was kind of impossible.

The skeleton nodded, slowing his pace. "yeah, but when ya eat them, the wrapper has nice messages in it. good for not so good days."

"Sounds.... Sweet." You concluded, as you stopped at the stand. "Maybe I can be your first customer."

Sans rolled his eyes at your pun, unlocking the cart. "heh, if you want. just don't expect it to meow."

So he was thinking about the hot cat incident, too. You reached into your pocket and pulled out your wallet, leafing through to grab a few dollars. "How much are they?"

"'s on me, don't worry about it." Sans reached into the cart, grabbing what looked like a popsicle and holding it out to you.

You raised an eyebrow, trying to look serious, but you couldn't help the smile that crawled across your face. "Sans, really, let me pay for it. It isn't a big deal."

The two of you stared at each other for a moment, but finally he gave up, sighing. "two fifty." You fished the money out of your wallet and handed it to the skeleton. He gave you the nice cream and leaned against the cart. "thanks for hanging out with us today. the kid seemed to really like you."

You couldn't help but blush a little, looking at the sidewalk like it was the most interesting thing you'd seen all day. "They're nice, Toriel and Frisk. But... I can ask you a question, right?" You met his eyes, worried that he would get mad. You knew that it was a simple question- how did Toriel adopt Frisk? But still, you felt like it wasn't your place to be asking.

"ya just did." The skeleton grinned at you, but his smile became more forced after he saw your expression. "shoot."

"So, how is Toriel..." you drifted off for a second. How could your phrase this? "Toriel is Frisk's mom? How does that work?" You went back to staring at the ground uneasily, sure that you had made things awkward.

Sans chuckled, drawing yours eyes back up to him. "tori kinda taught them the ropes back in the underground. kept the kiddo safe for a while. when we came to the surface, frisk wanted to stay. so they did."

Holy. Crap. Frisk was the one who helped break the barrier. How did you not recognize them? "I didn't even realize, how did I not-"

Your neighbor's laugh broke you from what was about to be endless babble. "kid, don't worry about it. frisk wouldn't want to be treated any different from any other person."

"Kid?" Yeah, you should have been focused on your errors, but... Being called "kid" stung a little bit.

"what? did you like 'babe' better?" He had that grin on his face, that shit-eating grin he wore when told an exceptionally bad pun.

You couldn't help but blush. Yeah, of course you liked babe better. Every time he said it, it felt like your heart raised into your throat. "I-I mean," what excuse could you really make up at this point?

"i'll take that as a yeah." Sans pushed himself off of the cart, taking a few steps to you to close the space between you. Your brain didn't even have time to think up the million questions about what he was doing before Sans leaned in, pecking you on the cheek. You were frozen still as he stayed there for a moment, and you were sure you were as red as the umbrella next to you. When he did pull away, he winked at you. Yep, definitely umbrella red. "enjoy that nice cream."

You quickly squeaked and began your walk home. Could you be any more of a nerd? After you were a few blocks away, and out of his line of sight, you began to look around.

You were pretty close to home, but didn't really recognize the are. There were a few little shops here and there, and some houses too. You could see what looked like a convenience store, a bakery, and... Was that Catty? Looking up at the sign, you saw that it was the animal shelter she had talked about. Maybe you would visit some time. But today, you felt more like naps and movies.

First though, the nice cream. It wasn't quite what you had imagined. The nice cream looked just like a bright blue Popsicle, but it tasted like something you couldn't even explain. But, the taste wasn't the most interesting part. The wrapper, which was quickly stuffed into your pocket, had a cute, happy message on it. "Love yourself! I love you!"

You managed to find your way home, but it took much longer than you had expected. As soon as oh got home, you plopped onto the couch and grabbed the remote. You channel surfed until you found what looked like a marathon of Tim Burton movies, and snuggled into the couch.

You were almost asleep by the time your phone went off. Reaching into your pocket, you saw it was a text from Catty.

" _Okay, that was totally you, right? Like, who walked by the shelter? I could have sworn, but you were all super red and stuff._ "

Were you going to have to explain the kiss from Sans? You were already trying not to think about it yourself. " _Yeah, that was me. I should have stopped in, Sorry_ " you texted back as you propped yourself up on the couch. So much for that nap.

" _Like, don't be sorry! What were you even doing?_ "  
Before you could respond she sent another text.  
" _Wait, you were totally coming from the nice cream stand! Were you out with Sans?_ "

Even through text, Catty could see right through you.  
" _I was just walking him to work._ "

" _Then why were you blushing?"_

_"It was hot?" How could you get out of this one?_

_"Does 'it' mean Sans?"_

_"No!!!!"_

_"So you don't think your boyfriend is hot?"_

_"That's not what I'm saying, Catty."_

_"That's the second time you didn't say that he wasn't your boyfriend._ " Well, she wasn't wrong. " _You know what? You should just, like, come to the shelter tomorrow. We can talk about it then._ "

You sighed and put your phone on the coffee table. Guess you would put have a free day this weekend, after all. At least you wouldn't be laying in bed all day. It didn't take long for you to snuggle back into your couch and fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'd like to thank you guys so so soooo much. I'll never stop being greatful for this.


	10. Wake Up Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as I'm uploading this, I'm at 1998 reads! That is INSANE. Thank you guys so much for reading my garbage. And as always, you can find me at http://centerofprocrastination.tumblr.com/

Waking up in that night was weird. You should really stop sleeping on couches so often. It was really going to mess up your neck. As you sat up, your back popped, and you let out a grunt. The TV was still on, but now it was playing some X-Men movie.

You stood from the couch, being careful not to trip over anything, and walked to your kitchen. Grabbing a glass, you poured yourself some water, and leaned against the counter, trying to wake up still. You hadn't planned on napping for so long, and doing so had messed with your sense of time.

The knocking at your door startled you so much that you nearly dropped your glass. You sat your drink down carefully, clearing your throat. "I'll be right there!" Your voice cracked, so you cleared your throat again as you went to open your door.

Frisk was standing in your doorway patiently, a big smile on their face. You were surprised to see that they were still here, but didn't think about it much.

"Hey Frisk, what's up?" You bent down to get on eye-level with the kid.

They started to sign something, but noticed how uneasy you looked, and instead made an oval with their hands.

"Frisk, I-" You stopped again as Frisk started to flap their arms like wings. Like a chicken. You couldn't help but giggle. "Do you need eggs?"

The child nodded, jumping up and down. You smiled at them and opened the door wider, standing up.

"Alright, I'll go get some. How many do you need?"

Frisk held up two fingers, and you headed off to the kitchen again. You hadn't even noticed that Frisk had followed you in until you had turned back with the eggs in your hands. Of course, being yourself, you jumped, lost your grip on the eggs, and they dropped to the floor. And broke. Frisk looked uneasy and quickly started to sign "sorry" over and over again.

"Hey, it's alright, wasn't your fault." You tried to laugh it off, but you could see how worried they were. "Frisk, really, I've got more. Besides, these eggs weren't good enough anyways." Smiling at them, you reached back into the fridge and grabbed two more eggs. "See? These ones are way better."

You handed the eggs to Frisk, who held them carefully. They smiled back at you, but when their gaze hit the eggs on the floor, they scrunched up their nose.

"Really, Frisk, you're not in trouble. I'll clean this up, you go back to Paps'. " Was that the first time you had used a nickname for one of the skeletons?

Frisk nodded again, and left your apartment. You grabbed a few paper towels and cleaned up your mess, grumbling to yourself. Geez, you really needed to stop being such a klutz.

After you cleaned up the floor, you went to your room and pulled out your laptop. You scrolled mindlessly on the Internet for a while, curled up in a blanket. You had fallen asleep again before Frisk had showed up to ask you over for supper.

________

There were many things you missed about living in the middle of nowhere. For instance, when you live in a small town, friends have a tendency to just walk on in to your home. But not in the city. No, in the city, they knock. And knock. And knock. And when people city knock, and knock, and knock, it wakes you up. And when you're waken up from someone who knocks, and knocks, and knocks, you have a tendency to be pretty grumpy, to say the least.

You yawned, glaring at your alarm clock. Yeah, it wasn't early, but you were still tired. The knocking started again, so you gave up and swung your legs out of bed. Your bare feet hit the floor and you stumbled forward, nearly falling forward. You barely caught yourself in time, gripping onto your nightstand for balance.

Stumbling out of your room, you made your way to the front door and opened it slowly. "Who the heck-"

You were met face to face with an annoyed looking Catty. "Finally! I thought I was going to be here for like, forever!"

"Oh, Catty, I totally forgot." You groaned to yourself, rubbing the sleep from your eyes. "Just- I still need to get ready."

Catty scrunched up her nose, but then nodded. "Okay, fine, but you're totally going to tell me everything when you get dressed."

She followed you inside as you walked back to your bedroom, but waited outside as you changed into shorts and a t-shirt. Could it quit being hot already?

"Okay, like, spill the beans! Why were you blushing? It was, like, wicked cute!" You could practically hear Catty grinning through the door.

"It's not a big deal, really." You were try to convince yourself this, too.

Catty sighed, rolling her eyes. "_______, I'm so not dropping this."

"Well," you started, biting your lip. Might as well tell her. "He kissed my cheek. Again."

The monster squealed, and then gasped in excitement. "Oh. My. God. What else? That can't be it. Like, there's got to be more, right?" Catty's words were coming out fast, and were hard to hear through the door.

"And..." You paused, slipping on your shirt. "He kind of... Asked me out?" Catty practically screamed, and you cringed, opening your door.

"Seriously? Where are you going? When are you going? Oh my god, _____, this is so exciting! What are you two gonna do? We totally called it!" Catty looked like you had just told her that she was going to Disney Land. Did monsters even know about Disney Land?

You shook your head, leaving your apartment with Catty, who was busy typing away on her phone. "Catty, I'm trying not to freak. He's taking me dancing, but I don't really know anything else."

"You mean, like what you have to do everyday?" She raised an eyebrow at you, stepping into the open elevator.

"I don't think that there could be a better first date." You stuck your tongue out at her, following her in.

Catty shrugged, hitting the '1' button. "Like, at least now you can actually call him your boyfriend." She smirked at you, nudging your arm. "Riiiiiight?"

You laughed, shaking your head. "Catty, it's a first date. Nothing is official."

"Other than your huge crush on him."

"Catty!" You could feel your cheeks heat up, and made a side note that you should learn how to not blush all of the time.

"You know I'm right, _____."

The elevator doors opened, and the two of you walked out of the building and to the animal shelter. You were about a block away when Catty finally stopped teasing you.

"So, you think that they won't mind me being around?" You asked her.

"Of course not. As long as you aren't, like, bothering the animals or anything." Catty stretched, letting out a soft mew. "Plus, the manager is like super crazy nice." She opened the door, swinging it a bit harder so you could get through too.

The first thing you noticed was the older lady behind the counter. She wasn't elderly, really, but her hair had already turned quite gray. She also seemed pretty stressed, but as soon as she saw Catty, her eyes softened, and she seemed to relax.

"At least someone showed up today," the woman sighed, stepping out from behind the counter. "Catty, you know I hate to ask, but Josh didn't show up again." The last word came out with such hostility that you were certain that Josh was on his last thread.

Catty suddenly became really uneasy, and her fur bristled a bit. "I like, guess so," her ears drooped as she looks at the back door.

  
The woman seemed just as uncomfortable as Catty. "They're just a couple of dogs, it's not a big deal. And none of them have ever tried to hurt you." She stepped closer to Catty, putting a hand on the monster's shoulder. "You'll be fine."

"Just a few blocks." Catty nodded to herself, and then she smiled up at the woman. "I can totally do this."

"Um," you weren't sure what to say. What did Catty hate so much about the dogs? "I can help, if you want. If it would made the situation any... Better?" Smooth, as always.

Catty's grin grew, looking much more sincere. "Oh my God, that's such a great idea! Dorris, _____ can help, right? It's just walking, like no biggie!"

The woman, Dorris, turned to you and held out her hand. You shook it as she spoke, "Nice to meet you kid, I'm Dorris. I run our little animal shelter. " There was some dinging noise from somewhere in the building, and she gave you both a quick nod before dropping your hand and chasing after the sound. "You two be safe!"

You followed Catty into a room down a small hall, but as she chattered your mind was somewhere else. You knew it was stupid, but hearing someone else calling you kid, it suddenly felt weird. Could Sans really impact you like that? You hadn't even known him for two weeks, but suddenly the littlest things reminded you of him. You felt that tugging in your chest again- you had nearly gotten used to it. It happened so often with Sans, but you had just chalked it up to butterflies.

Catty called your name again, finally catching your attention. "Like, geez, if you find me boring you can just say."

Her paws were on her hips, and when you looked behind her you saw several cages, with the most adorable dogs you had ever seen. One of the dogs barked at you, and Catty jumped higher than you thought was possible, her fur standing on end.

"Hey, hey," you put your hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her down. "You're good, Catty. They're just excited."

Catty smiled nervously, nodding. "T-totally. So, like, w-we've gotta walk them. They aren't t-too bad," she took a deep breath, and you removed your hands. "Josh usually walks them, but since he didn't come in," the monster drifted off again, grabbing a leash from the wall. "And hey, since there two of us, we can totally take them all in one trip!"

You began counting the dogs, five in all, and went to grab for a leash before Catty handed you something else. It was one of the ones that was wound inside of a container, and you could lock it into place. This one, however, had three different leashes in it. You flipped the device over in your hands, trying to get a feel for how it worked.

"You don't mind taking an extra, do you?" Catty asked. You finally noticed her tail between her legs. "I don't have the best luck with dogs."

"What happened? Dorris said that they haven't hurt you."

"We can talk about it on the way." Your monster friend nodded to the cage, and the two of you started hooking dogs to leashes.

You and Catty walked out of the building without much fuss, but you could see it as Catty calmed down. "So," she started, tugging the leash a bit closer to her body, "When we first came up to the surface, there were, like, a lot of different things, y'know?" You nodded, and she continued,"We had monsters that looked like dogs, but the ones up here are, well, they're totally different. And I don't mean like, talking and stuff, some monsters don't do that either! But, your dogs, on the surface, they can be totally mean. Bratty and I totally didn't know that when we first met some."

You pulled one of the dogs away from the street, keeping them safe. "Yeah, but they aren't all mean. And the ones that are mean, usually they were raised like that. Or something bad happened to them. Dogs aren't all that different from us."

Catty made a noise that you couldn't quite hear, and she continued on. "On the surface, dogs and cats don't get along, do they?" She shook her head, speaking before you could answer, "Bratty and I were out one night, and there was this little dog. We figured that it was like, just another dog, right? But, like, this dog wasn't like Doggo or Dogaressa. So, when they came up to me and barked, I just thought they were saying some totally weird version of 'hey." Catty shuddered, eyeing the dogs in front of her, "So of course, I reached out to pet them. Because dog monsters totally love when you let them. It's wicked cute. But when I like, went to pet the dog, they totally bit me!"

She still sounded shocked at the event, even though this must of happened months ago. You let her talk more, figuring that an interruption opulent help. "So Bratty and I are like, totally afraid of dogs now. Well, regular, like, surface dogs."

You turned the corner with Catty, and you could see the animal shelter again. "I promise, they aren't all bad. I had a dog back home, a long time ago. She was pretty dumb, but she was the sweetest thing. I've always been more of a cat person though."

The two of you locked eyes for a moment before you remembered that Catty was, well, a cat. "Cat person, hmm?" She practically purred the words, a smirk spreading across her face.

"Crap, yeah, that sounds weird. I've always had a thing for cats?" You tried again, making it even worse.

"Wow, and here I thought you had a thing for _skeletons_." Catty teased.

You couldn't help but blush as you walked closer to the shelter. "You know that's not-"

"______ is in love with a skeleton!" Your friend practically yelled. What was this, middle school?

"I am not in love! I just.... I have a crush on one." You pat one of the dogs, looking anywhere but at Catty. Your heart had flipped as you had spoken, finally admitting your little crush.

Catty laughed, opening the door for you and the dogs. "At least you can like, admit it."

You had only taken a few steps inside before you stopped. In front of you and Catty was Dorris, and a young man. His hair was dark black, but it seemed to gleam purple in the fluorescent lights.

"This was the last straw, Joshua!" Dorris yelled, her hands running through her hair impatiently. "I hate to lose another volunteer, but you are never here to do your job."

The guy, Josh, rolled his eyes, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his skinny jeans. "Whatever. Didn't want to be here anyways." And with that, he left, sneering at you and Catty as he walked by.

"Like, it's about time you took a stand, Dorry," Catty smiled at the older woman, shifting the leash into her other hand. "He was a total pain, anyways."

Dorris nodded, and Catty took you back to all of the cages. You helped put the dogs back in their proper places before Catty waved you off, saying that it was her job, not yours. You gave a quick goodbye to her and Dorris, and was soon on your way home. At least this time you didn't get lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Side note for anyone who cares:  
> I know I said an update every 2 days, but that is obviously not working out. So instead, how about I aim for 2 a week? Sound good? Opinions? I have no clue what I'm doing.


	11. Your New Nickname is Something

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Over 2,000 people have read this??? How??? Thank you guys for reading this garbage, holy crap. It means so much.   
>  Also yeah it's another pun for a title. Not even a good one. Bite me.  
>  And of course, you can always reach me at centerofprocrastination.tumblr.com

  
It was only about 2 in the afternoon when you arrived back at your apartment. You were immediately hit with the heat, and ran for the air conditioner to turn it on. How had it gotten so hot so quickly? As soon as you had managed to turn on the air, you were off to the bathroom. After that, you went to your new kitchen, grabbing a kettle and filling it with water. You sat the kettle on your stove and turned up the heat.

There was a knock at your door, and you instinctively yelled, "Come in!" as you grabbed a box of tea bags. You had a quick thought about how you probably shouldn't be inviting unknown people into your home, but you were still more used to living in a small town. Hell, just hearing people knock still put you off.

"heya." Sans closed the door behind him, strolling into your home.

"In the kitchen," you informed him, turning just in time to see him- was he checking you out? "What's up, bones?"

"that's not gonna stick." he informed you, hands in his pockets. "couldn't sleep, and pap is out, so i figured i might as well do something."

"Why would you be sleeping? It's after 2, Sans." You gave him a stern look, leaning against the counter.

Sans shrugged, grinning up at you, "late night at work. and i thought you'd be happy to see me." He feigned shock, even putting a hand to his chest.

For a second you began to wonder again how he could show any emotions, but quickly shooed the thoughts away. "I am, of course I am, just a little surprised, is all." You paused for a second before nodding to the kettle. "I was making tea, do you want some?"

"nah, not really my style." Sans shrugged again, his grin growing a little. "but if i was more adventurous, i'd give it a _chai_."

Rolling your eyes at his pun, you couldn't help but grin a little. "I-" Before you had even managed a syllable, the kettle began to whistle. Taking it off of the heat, you set the kettle to the side and grabbed a cup, setting a tea bag in it and then poured in the water. Your TV began to make a soft hum of voices, and you realized that Sans had slipped away. As your tea steeped, you stirred in some sugar and at the last second you grabbed the ketchup from your fridge.

You made your way to the living room, 'drinks' in hand, and sat the ketchup in front of Sans before sinking back into the couch yourself. "Sure don't mind making yourself comfy, huh?" you teased.

Sans sat up, and you could have sworn he was he looked nervous. "sorry, just didn't want to get in your way, ki-" there was a slight pause before his grin became more believable, "babe." His eyes darted to you, and the whites of his eyes grew brighter when he saw how red your face was.

"You're fine, it's, uh, no problem," you couldn't help but stutter, adjusting your legs get get more comfortable. "What are we watching?" Nodding towards the television, you managed to get his attention off of you for a moment.

"myth busters."

You let out a quiet laugh, "Figures."

"what's that supposed to mean?" He raised a brow bone at you as he turned down the volume, not that it wasn't already quiet.

"Well," you started, lifting the cup to your mouth, "You kind of... Remind me of a scientist, if that makes sense." You took a drink at sat your tea on the coffee table.

Sans smile only grew, his eyes focused intently on you. "guess you can see _right through me_ , huh?"

You laughed again, more loudly than before, "Will you ever quit responding with jokes?"

"of course not." He held out his arm suddenly, motioning for you to come closer. You did so, scooting over until you hip nearly touched his. Sans rested his arm across your shoulders as your face burned bright red. "what are you doing wednesday?"

"Working?" You turned to look at him, blinking a few times when you realized how close your faces were. Your heart fluttered as his gaze shifted to you again and you swallowed hard.

"that night, i mean."

You studied him for a moment, and quickly saw what looked like sweat. Was he nervous? "Sleeping?"

Sans' smile grew a little, "okay, smart ass. guess we can dance another day." He turned up the volume on the television just in time for and explosion, making you jump. A second explosion sounded off, and without thinking, you curled into his side,. "heh, you really do want to _jump_ my _bones_."

"Oh, shut up." You attempted to sit up, but Sans held you against his side.

"you're the one who's talking,"

"So are you!" Laughing, you managed to sit up, still leaning against him. "Wednesday sound good though."

Sans nodded reaching for his ketchup to take a drink. You couldn't help but stare, wondering how any one could stand that, even without a stomach. The two of you sat there for a while, watching Myth Busters. It wasn't until you heard thunder that either of you spoke.

"Is it supposed to rain today?" You asked him, glancing out the window. The sky didn't seem particularly dark.

"dunno. i think-" his words were stalled as the loud, crackling sound of lighting filled the air. Everything went black, from the tv to the lights on the ceiling. "what the hell? what's going on?"

There was another clap of thunder, making the both of you jump. "I guess the lightning struck a power chord or something. The power's gone out." You slipped from his grip, stood, and went over to the light switch. You flipped it on and off a few times, biting your lip. "Do you think it's just our building?"

"_____, i have no clue how ours went out, let alone if anyone else's did."

"Oh, yeah, of course, you haven't had a blackout, have you? The lighting must have hit some equipment, or a power cable or something. Nothing will work for a while." You knew that your description was sub par, but it's not like you were an expert or anything.

Suddenly, Sans' phone began to ring, and you watched as he pulled a little flip phone out of his pocket. Papyrus' voice was clear, ever from across the room.

"BROTHER? SOMETHING BAD HAS HAPPENED, EVERYTHING HAS GONE BLACK! UNDYNE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING." There was a small pause in his yelling while you walked back to Sans. "SANS, I'M SCARED."

"relax, bro. _____ says it's normal. everything's gonna be alright."

"WHY ARE YOU WITH THE HUMAN? DID YOU BECOME FRIGHTENED, TOO?"

Sans turned down the volume a little, and you couldn't help the giggle that escaped your mouth as you crossed the room, back to Sans. "nah, we were just hanging out."

"SANS, ARE YOU EVEN WEARING YOUR DATING CLOTHES? I TOLD YOU TO READ THE DATING MANUAL BEFORE YOU TOOK THE HUMAN ON ANY MORE OF YOUR SURPRISE DATES!" As Papyrus scolded him, Sans turned a bright, vivid color of cyan. It was always your favorite color, but it looked so much better on him.

"bro, she's right here. she can hear you." Sans choked out the whisper through the phone.

"I can hear you too, Sans." You smirked at him, but you knew that your face was heated too.

"YOU WOULDN'T BE SO EMBARRASSED IF YOU JUST-"

"papyrus." Sans voice was clearer than the thunder outside, and it was enough to stop Papyrus.

"Y-YES BROTHER. WELL, UNDYNE WAS WONDERING IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COME OVER FOR DINNER? ALPHYS OFFERED TO RETRIEVE YOU ON HER WAY BACK FROM THE OFFICE, IF YOU'D LIKE." You could tell that Papyrus was a little uneasy, but he had definitely perked up.

"pap, how are you going to make dinner without power?" As soon as the words had left his mouth, your house lit up again. You could see Sans relax, and felt yourself relaxing too. "heh, never mind. yeah, i'll take the ride."

"I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL TELL HER AT ONCE! WE WILL SEE YOU SOON, BROTHER!"

Sans hung up the phone, and followed you as you slipped back onto the couch, sipping on your tea. "So, I'm not worthy of the special date clothes?"

"this is a date?" Sans fired back.

"Yeah, guess not." You shrugged, looking out the window. "I love the rain. Is it weird for you? I mean, the weather. You guys must not have had anything like rain or snow."

"actually, we had snow. paps and i lived in snowdin, and it snowed almost every day. 's just the rain that's new."

"Haha, very funny. What was it actually called?" There was no way that he lived in a place with that name, right? It had to just be another pun.

"nah, really babe. the name just made it that much better." Sans grinned at you, earning an elbow to his ribs.

"Are you, uh," you bit your lip, looking away again, "Is it okay to talk about it? The underground, I mean."

The skeleton paused, trying to follow your gaze. "with you, maybe." That got your attention, and he smirked when your eyes met his. "i don't like talking about it, but it's not a secret or anything."

You turned to face him better, your knees hitting his. "What was it like in Snowdin?"

"cold." Your face scrunched up at his answer, and he rolled his eyes, "there was a library, a shop, an inn, and of course grillby's. papyrus and i had our own house. but there was no sky. in waterfall, there were these caves that had crystals, and sure they looked like stars, but it was nothing compares to the real thing." His words were slow, careful, even.

"Don't you wish you had your own house, though? It's so much better than an apartment." At some point in his explanation, he had gasped your hand in his, intertwining your fingers. You squeezed his hand, running your thumb over the bones.

"if we had bought a house, i would have never met you." Sans squeezed your hand back, staring down at them.

The moment was interrupted by a knock at the door, and suddenly your hands were split a part. You frowned, and went to open the door. It hadn't been that long since Papyrus had called, was someone already here to get Sans? When you opened the door to the small, yellow lizard, about your height, you couldn't help but smile a little. She looked incredibly nervous, wringing her hands together.

"H-hello. You're _____, r-right?" The monster asked, meeting your eyes.

"Yeah, and you're Alphys?" She nodded, and you opened the door wider. "Sans is-"

"right here, babe." There was suddenly an arm around your waist, and a skeleton at your side. "heya, alph." The monster on the other side of the door relaxed some, smiling at Sans. "you ready?" He asked, turning to you.

"Me? You're the one who's leaving."

Sans looked at Alphys, taking his arm back. "she can come, right?"

Alphys laughed half-heartedly, nodding. "Looks l-like Undyne owes me f-five bucks."

The skeleton, smirked, nodding to her. "so, are you ready?"

"Are you ever going to actually give me time to get ready before pulling me out?"

"nah, 's more fun this way."

You rolled your eyes and nodded. "I guess if I'm invited, then yeah. Thank you, Alphys."

"I-it's no problem," she started, turning away, "Sans speaks v-very highly of you. P-papyrus too."

Blushing, you locked the door behind you and left the apartment with the two monsters. Yep, so much for a night alone.


	12. More Spaghetti

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter took a while, I tried. So here some more cuteness.
> 
> Y'all can reach me at centerofprocrastination.tumblr.com
> 
> More notes at the end, in case anyone cares.
> 
> Edit: I just hit 3,000 hits not long after uploading this!

The ride to Alphys' home was pleasant. Sans had offered to sit in the back seat with you, and he held your hand the entire way there. He spent most of the ride chatting with Alphys, but would occasionally tell you the name of the one of the bones in his hand that you were looking at. He couldn't really blame you for staring. Sure, you had the same bones, but you couldn't see them in action like you could his. It was amazing.

When you finally reached your destination, Sans surprised you once again. Before either of you got out of the car, he pulled your interlocked hands to his face and pressed a soft kiss to your hand before letting it go. You couldn't even react before he was out of the car, following Alphys up the path to her house.

You scrambled out of the car, shut the door behind you, and rushed after them to get out of the still pouring rain. Her house was a nice, two-story building, but you couldn't see much since your view was so obscured. You hadn't even reached the door before Papyrus bursted out of the house, sweeping Sans up into a big hug. He was followed by another monster, who resembled, well, a big, blue fish. With red hair. And an eyepatch.

The monster picked up Alphys, hugging her and planting a quick kiss on her lips. As she sat down the yellow monster, her eyes found you, and her lips pulled back in an unpleasant sneer. The pointedness of her teeth was frightening, no one could deny that.

"Wait, _this_ punk? You never said that they were human!" The large fish monster turned to Papyrus, who had finally dropped his brother.

"does it matter, undyne?" Sans asked, sounding just as pleased as the fish.

"Of course not! It's just kind of an important detail, don't you think?" She spat back, her eyebrows raised.

"If I'm not welcome, it's fine." You stared at the grass and dirt, biting the inside of your cheek. You could tell how soaked your shirt was already.

Undyne shook her hands, and her head followed suit. "It's not like that! My bestie is human!"

"UNDYNE, FRISK IS MY BEST FRIEND!" Papyrus shouted, hands on his hips.

"No way, punk! The kiddo's my bestie, and you know it!" She wrapped an arm around Papyrus' neck, using her other hand to noogie him.

Alphys sighed and gave you a weak smile. "S-sorry, she's a-a bit.. Rambunctious."

"No, no, it's fine!" You told her, not very convincing. "Just, if there's a problem,"

"no problem, we already told you." Sans spoke up, nodding to the house. You, Alphys, and Sans headed inside, leaving the others to their rough housing. "if there was a problem, i wouldn't have invited you, babe."

Alphys smirked at Sans, shrugging off her lab coat to reveal a t-shirt with some obscure anime reference. "B-babe, huh?"

The skeleton just shrugged, slipping off his hoodie. You couldn't help but notice how his bones glistened and shined from the rain, but thankfully remembered not to stare for too long. Even so, you watched how his bones moved under his plain white shirt as he held his hoodie out to you. It took you a second, but you finally realized that he was trying to give it to you.

"Wait, what?" You looked between him and his hand a few times, frowning deeply.

"ya look cold." He motioned for you to take it again, and when you finally did, he ran a hand over the material. "water proof. maybe you'll stop shivering, huh?"

Had you really been shivering? You looked down at your hands and sure enough, they were shaking. "Guess it wasn't the best day for shorts, huh?" You pulled the hoodie on and were immediately wrapped in its warmth. Not only its warmth, but it's smell, too. The hoodie smelled just like Sans- of course, there was a ketchupy scent, but there was something you hadn't really noticed before, a woody scent that was just so perfectly him. It smelled like old books and Christmas, and some how it couldn't have been more fitting for the skeleton in front of you.

Alphys led the two of you into a fairly large living room, or at least it was bigger than your own. Just as you had sat down on a love seat with Sans, the two larger monsters came back inside.

"UNDYNE AND I ARE OFF TO MAKE DINNER!" Papyrus' voice rang through the house, followed by the sound of his footsteps. There was a pause, and then you could hear Papyrus heading in your direction. He paused in the doorway, his smile as bright as ever. "HUMAN! YOU SHOULD SHOW UNDYNE HOW TO MAKE THAT WONDERFUL GARLIC BREAD!" You could see Undyne peek her head out around the huge skeleton, and she looked almost nervous.

"Garlic bread? You guys put that stuff on bread?" The fish asked, looking at you.

"An acquired taste, I guess," you looked to Sans for any help, and finding none. "Well, I guess I could try, if you guys really want to try it."

Papyrus nodded excitedly, and Alphys did too. Undyne was still looking a bit on edge, but nodded along with them, "Yeah, alright. Come on, Papyrus, human." She turned, heading back into a part of the house that you hadn't seen, Papyrus on her heels.

You stood, smiling at the two monsters still in the living room. "I'll leave you two nerds to talk, then. "As you began to walk away, Sans' hand caught your wrist, pulling you back for a second. You looked at him, raising an eyebrow, "Yeah?"

All he did was wink. It was long, it was deliberate, and it set your skin on fire. He dropped his grip on you and your face lit up that brilliant shade of pink. There was a moment between you two, the air tense, but your heart light, but it was soon over as Alphys made a squeak of excitement. You quickly left the room to find Papyrus and Undyne, rubbing at your face in hopes that the redness in your cheeks would soon diminish.

It was easy to find the two larger monster as they were banging about the kitchen. The house wasn't all that large, but that didn't stop your terrible sense of direction from making you take a wrong turn first. As you neared in the doorway, Papyrus appeared on the other side, walking right into you. Thankfully, he caught onto your sides before you had a chance to topple over.

"HUMAN! WE MUST STOP BUMPING INTO EACH OTHER LIKE THIS. YOU ARE BOUND TO GET HURT IF YOU KEEP THIS UP."

"Sorry Paps, my bad." You smiled up at the skeleton and he practically dragged you into the kitchen, letting you go once you reached Undyne's side.

She took one glance at you before suddenly pounding on the counter, causing numerous ingredients to fall from the cabinets. "Okay punk, how does this garlic bread thing work?"

You quickly showed Undyne what was needed and how it was prepared as Papyrus cooked the spaghetti sauce, looking ever triumphant. Undyne was a fast learner, but she was aggressive to say the least. By the time that the timer was going off for the spaghetti, you were sure that your garlic bread was  
More garlic than bread,  
Burnt, and  
Inedible.

And as it turns out, you were right, or at least on the first two accounts. Undyne and Papyrus ate the dinner heartily, Alphys looked sweatier than before, and Sans drowned his in ketchup. You could only manage a few bites of the garlic bread, but promised Undyne that it was a great first attempt.

"I'll get the dishes, you punks can go chill." Undyne said after you had all finished.

"I can help," you offered immediately. "Only fair since I was kind of, well, unexpected."

That was enough to let you stay as the others went back to the living room. Undyne was quick to stack up the plates, all in one arm, and carried them into the kitchen. You followed behind with the pan of leftover spaghetti and the rest of the bread. Undyne was halfway through the dishes before she broke the silence, pulling you away from your drying duties.

"Listen, about earlier, I'm sorry. Just, when those punks said you were their new neighbor, I just assumed that you were a monster I just hadn't met." There was a small break in her words before she continued, "I don't have anything against humans, either, if that's what you were thinking.

You could tell that she really meant her apology, and you were glad to accept it. Of course she was surprised, if you were in her situation, you would have been too. "It's no big deal, really. And even if you did have a grudge against humans, I would understand. From what I've heard, there's a lot of jerks out there."

The fish monster laughed loudly and clapped you on the back with a wet hand. "You said it, punk, not me."

The two of you finished cleaning up, which was quite a task considering the mess that you had all made, and left for the living room. Undyne sat down next to Alphys, pulling the dinosaur into a loose embrace. You couldn't help but wonder how a couple could be as cute as they were. There wasn't really an option for where you would sit, and lucky for you it was next to your skeleton crush.

As you sat down next to him on the couch, he shifted his legs to leave you room, moving closer to Papyrus on the couch. But once you had taken your place, Sans adjusted himself again, leaning against you, talking with Alphys the entire time. You didn't really understand what they were ranting about, but eventually concluded that it was some tv show. You occasionally shared bored glances with Undyne and Papyrus, confirming that they had no idea either. They raved on until Papyrus interrupted with a loud, pointed yawn.

Undyne was the first to speak up, and it was obvious that she has been waiting to speak for about as long as she could. "Geez Pap, this nerd talk really tired you out, huh?"

Sans slipped his phone out of his pocket, flipping it over to check the time. "heh, guess we should probably head home." With a nod, he closed his phone and stuffed it back in his pocket. The two brothers stood together, quickly looking back at you. "ya comin, babe?"

You nodded and stood up, but you stopped before you said anything, noticing that Sans was frowning, or at least, Frowning with his eyes. "Something wrong?"

"jeez, ya got sauce on my jacket."

Sans took a step closer, closing what little distance there had been. You looked down at your, erm, _his_ jacket to see what mess you had made, cursing yourself for not being more careful. Just as you had tilted your head down to see what damage had been done, his phalanges flew up towards your face. You had just enough time to think _oh no_ before his hand caught your chin instead of flicking your nose. _Wait, what? Not a prank?_ Sans tilted your face towards his, his smile turning into a smirk. There was another moment of silence in the room, and you caught another glimpse of that faint blue behind his teeth.

"I ship it." Alphys and Undyne whispered in unison, breaking the perfect moment.

The skeleton winked at you for a second time that night, dropping his grip on you. "got'cha."

And with that, you said your goodbyes to Alphys and Undyne and went back home, and you were well aware that you were blushing the entire time. Dammit, you really did have a crush on a skeleton.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you guys so much for reading my garbage, it means the world to me. So, I have a few questions for you guys. 1-am I allowed to give the reader a birthday because that'd be rad I guess, 2-do you guys always want replies to your comments? I read them all, of course, but I never know wether you guys want to have my feedback, and 3- holy crap you guys Kate (YNF) read my fic and she's like top 5 reasons why I'm writing this. That one wasn't a question but whatever. 
> 
> Also, just so you guys no, if you message me on tumblr it's pretty much a garunteed response.
> 
> Edit: Also can we talk about how my birthday is on April Fools day and it's the worst


	13. Let's Get Down to Business

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this took forever, and it's still short.  
> Well, on the bright side, you guys get a surprise tomorrow! Who's excited? No one? Cool. So cool.  
> Reach me at centerofprocrastination.tumblr.com

 

You arrived at your apartment later, briefly saying goodbye to the brothers. Sans hugged you to his side, causing you to blush harder than you already were.

"we still on for tomorrow?" Sans asked before you had opened your door.

"Tomorrow?" You raised an eyebrow at him, pausing with your hand on the handle.

"yeah, tomorrow."

"That's Tuesday, Sans. You said Wednesday, didn't you?"

Sans' expression suddenly matched yours, holding your gaze. "'s tuesday, babe."

"Wait, what?" That couldn't be right. Wouldn't you have heard from work by now? You had missed the whole day, and no one had even called! Pulling out your phone, you clicked the power button. Tuesday, July 7th. You quickly ducked into your home, closing the door behind you, and leaving Sans in the hall.

How the _hell_ had you already forgotten about going to work? Yeah, maybe you had gone to sleep at a weird time, but that was no excuse for completely forgetting. You quickly called your boss' number, but there was no answer. There would be no one in the building now, so you didn't even bother calling anyone else.

There was a string of cusses, the throwing off of shoes, and the tossing of a jacket all at once. You couldn't believe that you had done that- skipped work to spend the day with Sans. Sure, you had met new people, and yeah, you had learned more about him, but that wasn't a good excuse. You went to the bathroom and took a shower, still angry at yourself.

By the time you had changed and gotten into bed, you had finally calmed down. You slid into your blanket and pulled out your phone, checking to make sure that all of your alarms were on. With a last second's thought, you sent a text to Sans.

" _Sorry about leaving you in the dust back there"_

You hadn't even set your phone down before you received his text.

" _no problem. something wrong?"_

_"I forgot about work"_

_"you forgot?"_

_"I forgot._ " You made a face at your phone, wishing that you could drop it.

" _you forgot about your job"_

_"Yeah, Sans, I forgot. Can we not?"_

_"alright, but i'm gonna make fun of you later"_

Of course he would. Why would you think otherwise? _"Today was fun, though"_

 _"tomorrow will be better"_  
  
You couldn't help but smile at your phone, rolling your eyes. Your thumbs hovered over your keyboard, and for the first time, you started to get worried about your date with Sans. Would everything go alright? Where were you going? What would you wear?

" _babe?_ "

Oh, right, texting. " _Sorry, got distracted. So, where are we going tomorrow?_ " If there was anything you could do to stop worrying, it was to find out as much as you could.

" _it's a surprise_ "

Or maybe you couldn't. " _Really, Sans?"_

_"really, babe."_

You scoffed, more at the butterflies in your stomach than the text from Sans. Why could something so simple have such an effect on you? " _You're so helpful."_

Instead of getting a text, this time you received a call. But when you answered it, it was Papyrus' voice that rang through.

"HUMAN! SANS IS TRYING TO READ FLUFFY BUNNY, AND YOUR INCESSANT FLIRTING IS BECOMING VERY DISTRACTING."

"My flirting?" What did he mean _flirting_? Sans was the one calling you babe.

"YES! SANS SAYS-" there was a small pause, and you could barely make out Sans' voice on the other end. "SANS SAYS THAT HE WILL SEE YOU TOMORROW. GOOD NIGHT HUMAN, I HOPE YOUR DREAMS ARE FILLED WITH SPAGHETTI." The skeleton hung up, and your phone went quiet.

You weren't really sure what had just happened, but you knew that it would probably be best left alone. So instead, you plugged in your phone and went to sleep.

_______

  
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

You slammed your hand over the screen of your phone, groaning loudly. After a few seconds your vision adjusted to the bright light and you managed to shut the damn alarm off. With quite a bit of protest from your body, you got out of bed and made your way to the bathroom. You sluggishly went through your morning routine, but still managed time for breakfast. Well, if toast is considered breakfast.

The walk to work was nothing but filled with anticipation. They were certainly going to yell at you, and you desperately hoped that they wouldn't fire you. As you stepped into the building, you were met with silence. _Well, it isn't yelling at least,_ you thought, closing the door and walking into your boss's office.

"Chad?" You called his name loudly, finally spotting him, bent over a stack of CDs.

"Kiddo! Nice to see you showed up today!" His voice dripped in sarcasm, and you couldn't help but cringe at his words.

"Sorry about that, I really am. I have no idea how that even happened-"

Chad cut you off, shaking his too fake tanned hands at you. "Kiddo, I'm not cutting you loose. Well, I won't, on one condition."

You raised an eyebrow at him, finally relaxing. "Condition?"

He shook his head, grabbed one of the CDs, and walked past you. "Talk later? Clients are coming in."

Your nodded and followed him into a large, open room, covered with a slick floor. There were already quite a few people, all doing their own stretches. The age range never ceased to amaze you- there were some who must have been 80, others who looked like they just graduated high school.

"Good morning everyone!" Chad shouted to the room, his voice suddenly more of a twang, receiving a chorus of greetings. How anyone could ever believe his accent was beyond you. Then again, how anyone could be so excited this early baffled you too. "Alright y'all, our lovely ______ will be teaching class today! Of course, I'll still be here to help."

How had you forgotten this, too? Taking a few deep breathes, you stood in front of the class with your boss a bit behind you, and started class.

_______

  
You managed to teach a few classes, and felt that you did exceptionally well with the children. However, just before you left, Chad pulled you aside.

"Drop the freaks." His tone was incredibly serious, his voice was low.

"What? Freaks? What?" You looked at him, bewildered.

"The monsters, kiddo."

"What do you mean monsters? What are you talking about, Chad?"

"The skeleton!" His voice finally raised, but he quickly regained composure. "We can't have you hanging around with them, people might find out. We could lose business."

You couldn't believe that he was saying this. Sure, he was pretty fake, from his tan to his accent to his bleached hair, but still. Chad had seemed so laid back, so kind. "Are you serious?"

"Kiddo, it's nothing against you-"

He hadn't even finished his sentence before you were out the door. There was no way that you were going to stand there and let him talk shit on your friends. The door slammed behind you as you let out a loud cuss. There was just no way.

It took a couple blocks for your mind to become worried for a second time today. Would you lose your job? How would you get a new job before you had to pay rent? The only things you were certain of were that you would keep your new friends, and that you were going to have one hell of a date tonight.  
  
  



	14. Flirting 101

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you care, the outfit Reader wears is: http://centerofprocrastination.tumblr.com/post/143338027660/readers-outfit-from-chapter-14
> 
> You can alway contact me at centerofprocrastination.tumblr.com

~~~~It didn't take long to make your way home. You could have sworn that it had gotten almost _chilly_ , but how could it be anything but blistering in July? Once you finally made your way to your apartment, you started to calm down. Tonight wasn't for worrying or being pissed off. Tonight was for flirting with a skeleton.

You kicked off your shoes off at the door and closed it behind you. Taking a moment, you went over to your kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. You downed it quickly before heading off to your room. Over the day, you had started to plan your outfit for tonight. Well okay, maybe you weren't planning your outfit. It was more like "What do I own that is acceptable to wear for dancing, wear in public, and doesn't have a reference to a band on it?" The answer? Not much.

Tearing through your closet, you found the shirt that you had decided was the most fitting. It wasn't much- just an olive green top that fit fairly loosely on you, but still managed to look nice. The shoulders were cut out of the sleeves, which you thought was a big ridiculous, but altogether it was pretty. You grabbed the shirt, and after looking for a moment, grabbed a pair of black leggings too. Easy to move in, simple, but still nice.

You threw the outfit onto your bed and sat in front of your mirror to get ready. You took time in applying makeup, making sure that the wings of your eyeliner were perfect. Just as you were setting your face, your phone buzzed behind you. Grabbing it, you saw San's name light up across your screen. Of course you answered his call, holding the phone to your ear as you stood.

"hey babe." His deep voice rang through the speaker, sending a shiver down your spine.

"Hey bone head," You slipped off your pants and pulled on fresh ones, managing to do so with one hand and a goofy smile on your face.

"very clever. never heard that one before." You shrugged between his words, even though he couldn't see you, "i just got off of work, so i'll be over soon. uh- if you're ready."

You smiled to yourself, the anticipation building up in your chest. "Yeah, sure, I'll be ready. See you then?"

"see ya then," Your phone clicked off, and you tossed it onto your bed.

You spent the next few minutes in a hurried mess. You finished getting dressed, ran your hands through your hair, and pulled on your boots. A knock sounded down the hall just as you finished tying your shoes. At the last minute, you grabbed a long gold necklace with a small heart, and slipped it on over your head. You picked up your phone and pushed it into your right boot before running to the door and opening it.

In front of you stood Sans, who was obviously hiding something behind his back. You raised an eyebrow at him, to which his grin only grew.

"ready?"

You sighed, trying to ignore the small smile on your own face. "What do you have there?"

"well," the skeleton began, shifting the weight of whatever he was holding, "i know how much you like to bake." He paused for a second, "so i bought you some _flours_." Sans held out the two bags to you, looking very proud of himself.

It took you a second to take it all in. Sans had bought you flour. Two bags of flour. Instead of flowers. You bit your lip, stifling a laugh. "Oh my god, Sans." You let out a distinct snort, to which you covered your mouth. "Flours. Okay. Okay yeah. Come on in, sit them whatever."

Sans smirked, walking in and setting the bags on your counter as you snickered behind him. He came back, slipped his arm around yours, and interlocked his boney fingers with yours, quickly shutting you up.

"now are we ready?" Sans asked.

You nodded, swallowing as you stared at your hands. His thumb ran over your hand and you shuddered, letting out a stupid giggle.

The two of you left the building, and Sans led you to the small parking lot off to the side. You tried to head for your car, but Sans pulled you to the other side of the parking lot. He stopped near a shiny red convertible, pulling the keys out of his hoodie pocket and unlocking the car.

"Woah, this is yours?"

"i bought it for paps when we first came up top. our first big buy." Sans said, opening the passenger door. He then slid across the hood of the car, landing smoothly by his door. He slid into his seat, and you quickly took yours, closing the doors behind you.

"Very smooth, Sans." You pulled the seatbelt across your chest and clicked it into its lock.

Sans copied your movements and turned the key into the ignition, smiling as the car roared to life. "i am made of bones, after all."

You rolled your eyes as Sans peeled out of the parking lot and onto the open road. As Sans made his way across the city, you realized how little you knew about the places here. Sure, you could get to simple places, like the parks, the mall, and maybe a few restaurants. But you didn't know the city.

"come on babe, i know i make you light headed, but don't go gettin you head stuck in the clouds."

You blinked, looking over at the skeleton. You hadn't zoned out for that long. "Does that even count as flirting?"

Sans shrugged, his eyes trained on the road. "do you believe in love at first sight?'

"What?"

"or should i drive around the block one more time?"

"Sans-" you couldn't help but laugh for a second, "First of all, that's so cheesy. Secondly, that doesn't even work. We're in the same car!"

"you laughed, though." He grinned at you cheekily, wiggling his brow bone.

"Only because you're a big dork." You stuck your tongue out at him as you moved your legs to get more comfortable.

"most people think i'm small, tibia honest. or, what was it that alphys said- smol?"

"You've used that one. Several times, actually." You chided him, clicking your tongue.

"oldie but goldie?" He tried, glancing at you again. But before you could answer, he pulled into another parking lot. It took a while to find a parking spot, though it gave you time to get a good look at the place. The only windows on the entire building were the two up front, on either side of the double doors. It seemed pretty spacious, and there seemed to be an upstairs. Of course, you couldn't see inside of the building yet.

Sans finally parked the car, sighing with relief. It took everything you had not to ask how he sighed without lungs. "didn't think it'd be so packed on a weekday."

You shrugged, unbuckling your seat belt and hopping out of the car. "It must be a nice place then."

The two of you walked together to the front of the building, smiling at each other before he opened the doors. The first thing to strike you was the noise. The building must have been sound proof, because the speakers were louder than anything you had ever heard. Some pop song was playing, and there was a crowd of people dancing in the middle of the room. You pulled Sans inside, dragging him to the edge of the dance floor.

"This place really is packed!" You had to yell over all of the noise.

Sans nodded, little blue drops of sweat forming on his skull, "sure is."

It took you a minute to understand why he was so nervous. Looking out over the crowd, you noticed something that you hadn't really thought of before. They were all human. Every last one of the people in the club were human. "Sans, you gonna be okay?"

He nodded and took hold of your hand, scratching his skull with the other. "i didn't see any, uh, anti monster policies. pretty new place, though."

"Wait, those are real?" You frowned, surprised that that could exist. That anyone could allow such racism. Sans only nodded in response. It made your heart ache, the fact that anyone could hate someone just because they were different. But you weren't about to let Sans have a bad time.

The song changed to something more upbeat, and you took your chance. You pulled Sans along, out onto the middle of the floor. "Come on, we came to dance, not sulk."

And so you danced. You swung your hips, you moved your arms. And all the while, you smiled. Sans smiled too. Time passed, sliding by with the sound of music. It was like nothing else mattered. Just you, him, and- was that the Spice Girls?

You slipped back into reality, hearing a low, deep singing. "wanna zigazigah." You couldn't help but laugh at the skeleton. Of all the songs, of all the dances, he knew Wannabe. "if you wanna be my lover," he winked at you between the words, "you gotta get with my friends,"

"I never understood that. Why would I get with your friends?" You shook your head and continued to dance. Sans pulled you closer, placing his hands on your hips. "It's not even a slow song," you started. But then again, who were you to complain.

But it turns out that others didn't share your opinion. "The hell is that thing doing here?" His voice rang through the crowd, over the ending song and all of the other voices. You ignored him at first, and Sans did too. At least, you ignored him until other people joined in.

"A monster?"

"Who the fuck let that in?"

"I thought this was a dance club, not a garbage dump."

"Um, Sans?" You swallowed hard, the lightness I your chest suddenly gone.

"they can deal with it, babe."

You could tell how uneasy he was. How nervous the remarks made him. In an attempt to comfort him, you slid your arms around his neck. "Yeah. It's our night." You said, nodding to yourself.

"It's with a human?" Someone else spoke. You could have sworn that they had turned the music down.

"No one wants you here!"

"Monster lover!"

"Get out of here!"

You cringed, leaning into the skeleton more. "Maybe we should...."

"Excuse me," you jumped at the sudden hand on your shoulder. "It seems that your presence is starting a bit of trouble." The man seemed calm, considering all of the noise around you.

"so?" It didn't sound like a question. You were tempted to tell him that now wasn't really the time to be challenging someone.

"So I'll have to ask you two to leave."

"come on, we haven't even gotten our slow dance yet."

"Sir," Sans seemed more surprised by the formality than you, "please exit the building."

"Sans, we should leave." It hurt to admit it, but you didn't want any more trouble today than you already had.

Your date rolled his eyes, giving in. "ok."

In what seemed as just an extra act of rudeness, the man ushered you both out of the building. The two of you headed back to the parking lot, but paused for a moment, staring at the building.

"I bet they're playing a slow song now that we've left, huh?" You asked, chocking out a laugh.

"we could still dance." He offered.

You raised an eyebrow, changing your view to face Sans instead. His hand was held out to you, motioning for you to take it. You slipped your hand in his, and he quickly pulled you to him. You let out another half-assed laugh as you put your free hand on his shoulder.

Sans put his boney fingers on your waist, beginning to sway back and forth. You moved with him, to a beat that wasn't there. But somehow, you both knew when to move. After a minute, he decided to move his feet too, leading you around in a small circle. As cliched as it was, you couldn't have love the moment more. There was nothing better than the feeling you got when you danced.

Suddenly, holding onto his hand, you spun out of his grip. He didn't miss a beat, pulling you back into his grip. And in the smoothest moment you had ever seen, he dipped you. His grip was tight, but before you could fall, he kissed you. At first, you were shocked, but you didn't care for long. Instead of wondering how someone without lips could kiss, you kissed back. Hard and soft, all at once. But all too soon, the kiss was over, and you broke apart, the tingling sensation left on your lips.

"That was so much better than dancing."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowie that took forever. Thanks so much for reading guys. There was something else I was gonna say but I forgot whooooops


	15. Special Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so so so much for reading! I can't believe there's over 4000 hits! I love you all so much.
> 
> The chapter is a bit shorter than usual, but I felt that it needed to cut of where it did.
> 
> Also, the other day I received an anon on tumblr asking if I'd make a seperate blog for HNFC and FF. Is that a thing you guys would want????? What would I even do? Character asks? That'd be rad. 
> 
> If you'd read my other fic Friendly Flames that would be rad. It only has one chapter but I'll be uploading more soon, I promise! 
> 
> You can always talk to me at centerofprocrastination.tumblr.com

Giddy. The perfect word to describe your drive home: giddy. Through all of the crap you had been through that day, that one little kiss had made it all better. Okay, maybe it wasn't a very little kiss, but still.

After Sans had driven you home, you went up together in the elevator. The two of you said your goodbyes, giving him a brief hug and a kiss on the cheek. There was a brief moment where you thought about kissing him again, to feel that buzz of his magic, but decided against it. You went inside and soon realized that you hadn't eaten, so you ate the dinner of champions: chips. Some weird 80's movie was on TV, so you watched it for a while. You went to bed earlier than usual, tired from all of the events of the day.

__________

Much to your disappointment, you still had to work the next morning. You could deal with your racist boss until you found somewhere else to work. After all, it's not like you could just quit. It's hard to give a two week notice when you haven't been working for two weeks.

You took your time getting ready, sluggishly making your way around your apartment. It took longer than usual to get ready, so you drove you car to work. When you walked into work, you briefly greeted Chad, who had seemed to have forgotten everything from yesterday. Neither of you spoke about it all morning, but that was perfectly fine with you. Why bring up something that would just upset you?

Your lunch break was at noon. Since you hadn't brought your lunch, you decided to go down to the little coffee shop down the street. You had never been inside, only walked or drove by it a few times. It seemed pretty small- it shared a parking lot with a few other buildings.

The walk there didn't even take two minutes. As soon as you got to the doors your phone buzzed, but you ignored it. When you opened the door you were hit with a sweet smell, like cinnamon rolls. You inhaled heavily, taking in the scent. Like any coffee shop, it smelled like dark roast, too. Stepping into the cafe, you took your place behind a man. You thought he looked familiar, but chalked it up to being home sick. After all, there was no way he was here.

"_______?" The man was now facing you, coffee in hand. He repeated your name, quieter this time.

You looked up at him, a huge smile spreading across your face. But how could he be here? "Jay?"

"I thought it wasn't you for a second there!" He laughed, visibly relaxing. Jay wrapped you up in a tight hug, holding you for a second before letting you go. If it was anyone else, it would have been awkward and long, but not with Jay.

"I'm glad to see you, but what are you doing here? I thought you were still on that trip?"

"The cruise ended early, there was this huge salmonella outbreak, it was weird. Everyone got food poisoning. Well, except for yours truly."

"Yeah, but shouldn't you be at home?"

"Get your coffee, then we can gab." He nodded to the barista, who was somewhat impatiently waiting on your order.

You smiled apologetically to her, ordering your coffee and one of the cinnamon rolls. Jay waited patiently for you, and once you had your order and had payed, the two of you took over a small table in the corner with a great view of the outside world. "Okay, so what the hell Jay?"

"And here I thought you'd be happy to see me." He scoffed, pretending to be offended.

"You know I am, but I'm more confused than anything."

Jay shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee before talking again. "I figured I'd come visit you since I wasn't there to help you move in, but when I got there, this, uh," he made a face, like he wasn't sure if he knew what he was saying, "skeleton? This skeleton, he told me you weren't home. I swear to God, I didn't go to your apartment high. There was a _skeleton_."

You laughed, biting your lip to stifle it. "The tall one or the short one?"

"There's two?!" Jay looked at you, bewildered. You nodded, and then after a second he said, "I guess short? They was about your height, I think. And they had this really deep voice too."

"That's Sans." You nodded, loving how shocked your friend was. "His younger brother is Papyrus. And yeah, they're skeletons. Magic skeletons."

"You know how crazy you sound, right? Or are you fucking with me? Magic skeletons names after fonts?"

You took a bit of your cinnamon roll, savoring the taste, "I'm serious, Jay. They're my neighbors. Well, Sans is kind of..." You drifted off, not sure how to continue. Were you two official? After all, you had kissed, and went on a date, and he called you babe.

"Woah," Jay drew your attention to him again, "Are you _boning_ a skeleton?"

You turned a bright pink, covering your face with you hands. You didn't even say dating, let alone boning! And that was such a cheap joke.

"It's cool, I get it," He laughed, pulling your hands from your face.

You nodded slowly before it hit you. "How did you even find my floor?"

"Oh, well, I asked. There was this monster about to leave when I got there, so I asked her."

You frowned, wondering who it could have been. It's not like you knew that many monsters. And it obviously wasn't Sans or Papyrus who told Jay where you lived.

Jay must have understood, because he went on. "She was actually really pretty, considering she looked like an alligator."

"Oh, Bratty? Yeah, she is r-" you stopped, grinning, "She's pretty?"

Jay sighed, shaking his head. "I can't just call some chick pretty now?"

"You said _really_ pretty, Jay."

"I don't even know her."

"I can totally hook you up."

He shook his head, downing the rest of his coffee. You quickly finished yours as well.

"It's pretty weird that we both ended up here, huh?" You asked, eating the last bit of your cinnamon roll.

"It's not far from your building, really. I just went one way until I found this place."

"I guess so. But, hey Jay?" He raised an eyebrow, and you continued, "I'm only on my lunch break, which is almost over. So I can't really hang out yet."

"I'll just loiter around somewhere until then, it'll be fine."

"Well," you thought for a minute, before an idea came to you. "I could give you the key. You've house sat for me before, so I know I can trust you."

"You sure? Maybe I changed on that trip. Maybe I'm a criminal now. Maybe I'm not even your lovely best friend, Jay."

"Or maybe you're still my nutcase of a best friend." You rolled your eyes, standing up. Reaching into your pocket, you produced your key chain. You took off the key to your apartment and handed it to Jay before kissing the top of his head. "I'll see you Ina couple hours, okay? And don't eat all of my food."

"Isn't that what best friends are for?" He grinned, sending you a wink.

You walked back to the dance studio, your phone buzzing a couple times. You were too hurried to check it.

____________

The rest of the day was pretty exhausting. You taught the children's class on your own, and that alone was enough to make you want to sleep for a year. But you perked up with the thought of getting to hang out with Jay for a while.

You drove home with a smile on your face. Yeah, some bad things have happened since you moved, but there was no arguing that your life had improved with your new neighbors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it just me or is it weird when there aren't s few OCs? Just me? Radical.
> 
> What are your guys' opinions on the new blog thing? I don't know how to make decisions. 
> 
> And thank you all so much for reading <3 it means the world to me.


	16. Jealous?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a bit longer than expected, sorry. I may have skipped a few chapters to write a different chapter and then hated what I wrote whOOPS.
> 
> Reach me at [The Best Blog Ever Tbh](http://centerofprocrastination.tumblr.com)
> 
> I finally made that blog for the fics: [Here](http://ficfrustration.tumblr.com)
> 
> You can ask me anything about HNFC or FFF, or send asks fo the characters! Or just asks in general.

The trip up to your apartment was quiet. Your phone had died before you could see who had been texting you, but you figured it wasn't a big deal. You rode up to your floor on the elevator, glad that you didn't have to walk up all of those stairs in the heat.

When you got to your door, you were surprised to not hear the TV blaring on the other side. You tried for the handle, but it was locked still. Where the hell was Jay?

There was a noise on the other side of the hall, and you watched as Sans opened his door. He didn't look pleased in the slightest.

"Hey, Sans, have you seen-"

"you didn't answer your phone."

"It died, and I was kind of busy with work and everything."

The skeleton eyed you for a second, the little white lights in his eyes darker than normal. "some guy was trying to get into your apartment earlier."

"Yeah, I heard you ran him off. But where is he now? I gave him my key and-"

"you really gave him your key?"

You nodded, unsure of what was going on, "I trust Jay."

Sans smile seemed so false, and it faltered slightly white he spoke again. "he's in my place. didn't think he was tellin the truth about you just _giving_ him your keys."

"I've known Jay for forever, Sans. You can trust him."

You walked with him to his apartment, slipping inside. Jay was sitting on the couch, looking more on edge than you had ever seen him. He was always so laid back- wether that was his personality or his... herbs. The moment he saw you, his eyes lit up and he sprang to his feet.

"______! Chica! Tell your friend here to let me go, huh? I feel like a prisoner in this place, all held up for a good three hours." He wrapped you up in a tight hug, and you saw Sans out of the corner of your eye, nearly frowning.

"We can go chill at my place now. Still have the key?" Sans cleared his throat beside you. You pulled away from Jay and looked at Sans' open palm, which held your key. "You can come with, Sans. Maybe my favorite boys can get along if I'm around."

Jay laughed and Sans fought that perfect cyan from his cheeks. "sure, if it's, uh, alright with jay."

Smiling, you pulled them both outside and to your door. You grabbed the key from Sans' hand, lingering for a moment before unlocking your door. Jay kicked off his shoes, or as he called them, "kicks," at your door, and you followed suit.

"So you guys want something to eat?" You asked, heading toward the kitchen. Jay muttered something that translated to "yes," and Sans said nothing. When you turned to reach into a cabinet, you realized that the skeleton had followed you.. "Oh, hey."

"we okay?"

You frowned, wondering why on earth he'd ask that. "Of course we are? Why wouldn't we be?"

"you didn't text me back all day, and then i find out you're hanging with another guy." Sans' eyes held yours, and you felt horrible. No wonder your phone had gone off so many times.

"Sans, no, it's not like that with Jay."

He broke eye contact, instead staring at the floor. "you gave him a key to your place."

"Sans," you paused, waiting for him to look at you. He didn't, so you decided to do something brave. You gently took hold of his jaw, moving his head to look at you. Wasting no time, giving yourself no time to overthink, you planted your lips on his teeth.

Last time, it had felt more human- almost as if he had lips. But this time, it was different. His teeth were cold and hard against your lips. You didn't care, though. You kissed him anyways, until he realized what was happening and kissed you back. You stayed like that, all but melting in his arms. Or at least, until you remembered that Jay was in the next room. You parted, both of you flushing furiously.

"how weirded out do you think he'll be when he sees me drinking ketchup?" Sans asked, his smile much more real now, more reassured.

"Well," you thought for a moment, "He drank mustard on a dare once."

Sans shook his head, pulling the ketchup out for himself. "I could never drink mustard. I'm not that edgy."  
  
"Fair enough." You laughed, grabbing some chips from the cabinet.

You walked back into the living room, Sans at you hip. Flopping down in the middle of the couch, you tossed the chips onto Jay's lap. Sans quickly joined on your other side, putting his arm around your waist and pulling you closer to him. You blushed at the gesture, surprised that Sans would be so obvious.

"I thought you didn't like these?" Jay held up the bag of chips, sloppily ripping the package open.

"Apparently I still get your favorites out of habit." You shrugged, glancing at Sans, who had the bottle of ketchup tipped up to his teeth. You tapped on Jay's knee and motioned to the skeleton beside you.

Jay watched in a mixture of amazement and horror as Sans downed the ketchup, a smug grin on the monster's face. "Is that really-?"

"mhm," Sans made an audible gulp before setting down the bottle.

"Chica, I think your new friend is trying to impress me." The natural purr in his voice was accompanied by a smirk. Jay continued to flip through channels, shoveling the chips into his mouth. You saw Sans' eyes light up when he landed on the discovery channel, but Jay quickly went to the next channel.

"Hey Jay, isn't it still shark week? We could watch that." You offered, more for Sans' sake more than for your own.

"Guess so. Nothing better to watch." Jay spoke as he flipped back to the previous channel.

Sans' eyes lit back up, and he whispered a quiet "thank you."

"Nerd," you taunted.

His grip on you slackened for a moment, and by the time you had turned to look at him, his boney fingers were dancing on your side.

Oh no.

You bit your lip, trying to lean away from his hand. But of course, that meant you moved closer to him. You were caught in Sans' tickling grip. And that couldn't be good. How could he even know that you were so ticklish?

Suddenly, Sans had another hand on you. He ticked both sides of your ribs, an evil grin on his face.

You gave in, laughing up a storm. "S-s-s-stop it!" You looked over at Jay, wondering now how he hadn't reacted. But when you made eye contact, he had a huge, smug grin on his face. "What d-did you do!" you managed between the laughter.

Jay shrugged, but the look on his face stayed the same. "I may have told him you were ticklish. He wanted me to prove that I knew you."

"he wasn't wrong."

"N-not fair!" Whining, you slipped out of Sans' grasp, landing on the floor. "I changed my mind, Papyrus is my favorite now." You pouted, still shuddering.

"That the other skeleton?" Jay asked, pushing himself onto the floor to join you.

You nodded, glancing up at Sans, who looked as smug as ever. "You might meet him soon."

Jay nodded and went back to eating. Sans was wrapped up in shark week. You say there for a minute or two before you broke the silence.

"How's Ginny?" You asked Jay, noticing from the corner of your eye that Sans was swinging his feet.

"he has a girlfriend?" Sans asked, disbelieving. "guess i had no reason to be worried, huh?"

You couldn't help but laugh, letting out an unattractive snort. "Jay is incredibly single."

"what?"

"It's a lizard, ya weirdo." Jay shook his head, laughing.

"thought ginny was a person name," Sans paused, seeing that neither of you looked moved. "don't you guys name pets... i dunno, weird things?"

"It's a reference." You leaned against the foot of the couch, bringing up your knees.

"to what?"

"Harry Potter?" You and Jay spoke together.

Sans sits there, a confused look on his face. "who?"

You couldn't believe this. Sure, he'd only been on the surface for about 6 months, but seriously! It was _Harry Potter!_ How did someone just not know about Harry Potter? Jay must have been having the same thought process as you, because you both looked at each other, ready to debate.

"House." You both spoke, then taking a quick glance at Sans, who looked mildly horrified.

The bickering lasted a few minutes, and even a few google searches, but eventually you got your way. After all, you knew Sans better than Jay did. Eventually, you agreed on a house: Ravenclaw.

__________

You spent the next hour or so explaining a very brief outline of the book series to Sans, with Jay's help of course. You were trying to leave out spoilers in hopes to get him to watch the movies at least, and by the time Jay had finished the chips you could hear Papyrus coming up the stairs.

"Woah, what the shit?" Jay says, turning towards the door.

"in here, paps!" Sans yelled to him. He gave you a questioning look suddenly, which quickly turned into a worried one. "shit, didn't think to clear it with you first-"

"Sans, you and Papyrus are always welcomed here."

Just then, Papyrus opened the door, striding into your apartment. "BROTHER, WHY ARE YOU WITH THE HUM-" The skeleton stopped short, taking in the view of you, Jay, and Sans. "OH, HELLO! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! WELCOME, NEW HUMAN." Jay shook the skeleton's outstretched hand, gazing up at the tall monster.

"Papyrus, this is Jay. Jay, this is Papyrus," you introduced them.

"THE /GREAT/ PAPYRUS!" He reminded you.

"anyone can tell how great you are, bro." You nodded, agreeing with Sans.

"So this is what you've been doing since you moved?" Jay asked you, staring at Papyrus, who towered over him. "Hanging out with skeletons?"

"What's wrong with that Jay? I just wanted to get to know my _inner self."_

Sans gave you a high five, chuckling, "told ya you could get that joke in somewhere."

Jay groaned at your pun, pulling himself back onto the couch. "I heard enough puns while he was keeping me hostage."

"SANS, I THOUGHT WE WEREN'T ALLOWED TO CAPTURE HUMANS ANY MORE."

"wasn't gonna keep him there forever, just till _______ got home."

"I could have been watching movies, dude!" Jay whined, sinking into the couch.

You took a moment, looking around you. Four people, three spots on the couch. You needed more seating.

"Bean bag chair." Jay said, catching your sight.

"Yes!" Popping up from the ground, you gave him a quick hug, running to your room. "Papyrus, go ahead and sit down!" You grabbed the chair from the corner of your room, glad that Jay was close enough to know when you were worried. Before you could make it back to the living room, Sans appeared in the hallway.

"you don't have to worry so much, y'know? one of us standin' there isn't w big deal."

"I needed more than just a couch in there anyways," you sidestepped him, bean bag chair in your arms.

"guess we won't be sitting so close then, huh?"

You couldn't help but blush at his comment. "We could still sit on the couch." The two of you walked back into the living room, and you sat the chair down on one side of the couch.

"WOWIE, I'VE NEVER SEEN A CHAIR LIKE THAT!" Papyrus said, absolutely delighted. He jumped up from the couch and sat in the chair instead, gasping as his bones hit the plastic. "IT FEELS LIKE A MILLION LITTLE BEANS!"

"That's basically what's in it. Don't sink too far in though, I'm not sure if you'll get back up." You laughed, sitting back down int the middle of the couch. Sans joined you, and you all settled in for a while.

Jay's eyes, as well as Papyrus', were glued onto the TV. You pretended to watch, but your main focus was on Sans and wether his hands were on yours or a round you waist. At one point he fiddled with your hair, twirling it around his fingers. You stole so many glances at him, and giggled softly every time you were caught. He caught you nearly every time, since he was already looking. The first time he had blushed, but after the tenth time he just grinned more.

It must have been 7 before any of you remembered to eat. Figuring that it would be the easiest thing to do, you ordered take out for everyone. Sans demanded on at least paying for Papyrus and himself, though he tried to pay for you and Jay as well, since he was "intruding"

The four of you ate dinner together, and after that Jay left, a few minutes later Papyrus started yawning, so Sans told you that they would be leaving too. Papyrus gave you a big, warm hug before running out the door. Sans gave you a kiss on your cheek, winking as he strolled after his brother.

That was it. You were done for. Of all of the people you could fall for, of course it was a skeleton. A living, breathing skeleton. But in those last few moments, as you watched him walk away, you realized how much you didn't care. No matter what people thought, no matter what people said, you knew him. You knew Sans. You knew how you felt. You just hoped that he felt the same way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all called it. Snas was jealous. Also guys I'm gonna write ACTUAL PLOT soon. And by actual plot I mean something that vaguely matters. Radical.
> 
> Thank you guys so so so soooooo much for reading, I love you all so much <3
> 
> Friendly reminder about [This Blog](http://ficfrustration.tumblr.com)


	17. Coffee Not Brains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that this took so long guys. I could give you a million excuses, but I'll just tell you that I was busy with a million things and I'm very bad at time management. But here it is!
> 
> As always, my main blog is [here](http://centerofprocrastination.tumblr.com/)
> 
> And the new, probably more important blog is [right here](http://ficfrustration.tumblr.com/)
> 
> There, you can send and fic related questions to me, or the characters! Honestly they don't have to be fic related just send some shit haha.

The rest of the night was a blur. You planned to stay up until 11 to make sure that Jay made it home safely. In the mean time though, you texted Bratty. Well, Catty too, since they had put you in a group text. The three of you planned to meet up the next afternoon, after Bratty got out of her classes.

But of course, you had your own work to worry about. First there was your dick of a boss, and a dance you had to plan for your students. Sometimes it felt odd, having students that were so much older, but you enjoyed seeing the happy faces. Besides, if you could make others happy, you could stand being around Chad for a while.

After making sure that Jay had gotten home unscathed, you finally passed out. For some unknown reason, you were incredibly tired the next morning. And not the common exhaustion you faced, more of the "living zombie" kind. Getting out of bed was a hassle enough on its own, not to mention getting ready for the morning. And nothing helped, either. Not a cold shower, not two cups of coffee, not even the spinning bear hug you got from Papyrus in the hall.

Work didn't go very smoothly, but you didn't have the energy to make up for it. You knew that day that you could have looked better, or acted better, or even ate better. It's not that you were mean, just that you that you weren't incredibly nice. By the time you got home, you were contemplating canceling your plans with Bratty and Catty.

Except, naturally, Catty was just outside of her apartment when you got there, a rather flustered look on her face and her back against the door.

She noticed you before you could say anything, her face lighting up. "Like, _______!" Catty exclaimed, standing up straight, "I'm totally glad to see you."

The monster quickly wrapped you into a warm hug, which you gladly returned. "Why are you out here already? Bratty said she won't get out of classes for another hour, an-"

You were cut off, Catty's ears lowering, and a scowl covering her face. "I locked myself out."

You held back a laugh, biting your lip, "How long have you been out here?"

"Like, not very long? Bratty said that her class totally got canceled, so I rushed home, but I had left my keys inside!"

"We could wait inside my place until she gets here, if you want."

Catty gave you a grateful smile, though it was easier to tell by here ears and tail than her mouth. "You know, I've never, like, seen the inside of it before."

You shrugged, walking across the hall and unlocking your door, "I'm sure that it's the same as yours. That's how it is with Sans' apartment, just that he has a smaller kitchen and extra room." The two of you walked into your living room, plopping down onto the couch.

"Sans' apartment?"

At first you just nodded, but then you caught a glimpse of Catty's smug grin. "Papyrus' too, of course."

"Mhmm," she purred, taking the other side of the couch for her own. There was a moment where you wondered if her fur would get on the couch, but you brushed it off, just like you would the hair. "Hey, like, you said that you're looking for a new job, right?"

You nodded, even though you'd rather talk about anything else. "Yeah, but I haven't found anything yet. Plus I've been pretty busy."

"You should totally talk to Dorris! There's been some trouble in the shelter, and a lot of people have, like, left."

"Wait, but I thought that everyone was a volunteer?" Confusion crossed your face, and you held up a finger to her. You could hear the loud footsteps, the monster taking the steps two by two. "Hey Papyrus!" You shouted, knowing without a doubt who it was.

He poked his head into your door, more ecstatic than you had ever seen him, "HELLO, HUMAN! HELLO, CATTY! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM HEADED TO UNDYNE'S! HUMAN, PLEASE MAKE SURE MY BROTHER DOES NOT GET INTO ANY TROUBLE," his face was suddenly serious, his eyes holding yours, "HE CAN BE QUITE A HANDFUL."

You nodded, to which Papyrus nodded back. He swiftly left, running to his own home. You turned to look at Catty, who was yet again smirking. "What?"

"You should make sure that he gets into a _lot_ of trouble," she purred.

Laughing, you shook your head. "I'm hanging with you and Bratty, not boning a skeleton."

She laughed, letting out a snort. "Boning? Like, really? He is totally rubbing off on you!"

You shrugged, checking the time on your phone. "I'm gonna go change real quick, okay? Gotta get out of my work clothes,"

You ran to your room, changing into a band shirt and pants that weren't as tight. When you came back, Bratty was on the couch, chattering with her best friend. They both saw you at the same time, smiles on their faces.

"Oh my god, _______, you look totally wicked!" Bratty practically squealed.

" _Totally_ wicked!" Catty repeated.

Leaning against the wall, you retied your shoes, "Oh, uh, thanks?"

"But not as wicked cool as you, Bratty!"

"But not as wicked cool as you, Catty!"

They said it in unison, like it was a normal everyday thing. Sure, you and Jay finished each other's sentences sometimes, or spoke at the same time, but not like they did. You wondered if the best friends had friendship bracelets or something of the sort, or if that had even been a thing underground.

"Do you think she's daydreaming about him?" Bratty snickered, stirring you from your thoughts.

"Who?" You asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Sans, duh." They said together.

You couldn't help but blush, laughing awkwardly, "No, no, definitely not. I mean, not that I don't think about him, I do-"

"Aww!" They squealed

"Oh, hey Bratty!" you were quick to change the subject, "Do you remember that guy you met downstairs yesterday? Brown hair, kind of tan, tall,"

"Totally amazing green eyes?" She asked.

"Yeah, that's the one."

Bratty nodded, holding her head up with the palm of her hand, "He was super cute. And like, he asked where you lived. It was kind of weird."

"Wait, you mean that guy who was trying to like, break into your apartment?" Catty asked, her ears perking up. "OMG, Sans was sooo mad! And like, he had your key? I saw the whole thing."

"Well, he wasn't really breaking in," you started, receiving confused looks. "Maybe we can talk about this in the car?"

The three of you quickly went downstairs and got into your car. Neither of them had bought a car yet, so they were always either walking or taking the bus. You wouldn't mind giving them a ride when they needed it, but they never seemed interested. So once everyone was all buckled up, you began to drive, explaining yesterday.

"His name is Jay, firstly. And he wasn't breaking in because I _gave_ him the key."

"But you're totally with Sans," Catty began.

"Why would you give some other boy your key?" Bratty finished the sentence.

You shook your head, exhaling. "Can l not let someone borrow my key?"

"Not another boy!" They yelped.

"But Jay isn't "another boy," he's my best friend!"

"Ohhhhh," Bratty and Catty nodded to each other.

"A super cute best friend," Bratty giggled.

"In my defense, he wasn't super cute when we met. And why has everyone freaked out about this? Sans basically held him hostage for three hours, and I had to kiss him until he calmed down. Plus, Papyrus texted me this morning demanding answers. Now you guys are on my case!"

"You kissed him?!" Bratty practically screamed in your ear.

"Well, yeah, but,"

Catty was the next to yell, "Like, you either did or you didn't. And why didn't you tell us earlier?"

"I did, I did. But that isn't the important thing."

"Ohh, Bratty. We should totally go somewhere tonight, leave Sans and ________ alone on the floor."

Bratty raised an eyebrow, a sly grin on her face. "Papyrus is going to be at Undyne's, huh?" You nodded, and her grin widened to show sharp teeth. "Wicked."

"Seriously?" You sighed, pulling into the mall parking lot. "Nothing is going to happen, we aren't even official."

Catty made a disapproving noise, hopping out of your car. "Frisk has totally been calling you "Sans' Pretty Girlfriend.""

"They are not." You argued, following her lead into the gigantic building.

"They totally are! It's like, uber cute."

"Uber cute." Bratty repeated, nodding.

"I told you guys, we aren't talking about Sans right now. I need to tell Bratty something."

"Something that's like, more important than your boyfriend?" The alligator teased.

Rolling your eyes, you followed the two monsters. "Jay thinks you're pretty cute."

Bratty stopped, her cheeks turning pink. "Wait, like, for real?"

You nodded, a, dare you say it, wicked smile on your face. "For real. I believe his exact words were, "really pretty," but he was totally flustered when I asked about it."

"Oooooh" Catty purred, walking up to in-mall Starbucks to order. You were surprised to find that she had somehow remembered your order. She ordered for the three of you, and you quickly found yourself with a well needed buzz from the caffeine.

"But like, isn't that still kind of taboo? Not all of us are as totally brave as you."

You looked at Bratty, brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Well, like, you guys are the first human/monster relationship." She looked almost as confused as you did.

"But you guys have been up here 6 months, how can we be the first?

"Not all people can like, think like you," Catty reminded you.

"And not everyone has the total hots for skeletons, either." Bratty snickered.

"Again, Jay and Bratty, not me and Sans."

Catty elbowed her best friend, wiggling her eyebrows, "She's totally not denying it anymore. And you should totally go for it, Bratty!"

"But wouldn't it be, like, weird for me to date your friend?" Bratty asked, her cheeks still tinged pink.

"Dude, if I wasn't okay with it I wouldn't have told you." You shook your head, practically chugging your coffee afterwards. "You guys wanted to go see that movie, right? The, uh," you struggled for the name, but you knew that it should be easy.

"Mettaton the Movie 19!" The squealed together.

After checking the time, you all realized that the movie was about to start, and ran to the other side of the mall, just in time. There was almost no one else in the theater, but it was loud nonetheless, thanks to Bratty and Catty's bickering over the plot. You had seen plenty of his movies thanks to Papyrus, but that felt like forever ago.

As you sat there, trying to figure out why a robot would have such great legs, you slowly realized how it really hadn't been that long, after all. July wasn't even over yet! Things were moving so fast, but really, you didn't mind. Yeah, sure, you were uncharted territory with Sans, all monsters really, but it just felt so... right. And who even cared if you hung out with monsters, or dated them even. It was your life, your decisions. So if you wanted to "bone" a skeleton-

"Don't you think so, ________?"

Wait, what? You looked to Catty, and fought the redness from your face. "Sorry, what was the question?"

Catty sighed, gesturing to the big screen, "Don't you think that Mettaton should totally be with the human?"

"But they're already under so much pressure!" Bratty countered, diving into another banter with Catty.

You tried to pay attention to the movie after that, worried that you'd be quizzed after it ended. Thankfully you weren't, but the girls still had more that they wanted to do.

You spent the rest of the night running through one shop to the next, in a frenzy of fabrics and gossip. Catty had nearly gone nuts over her blue dye, furious that the store had stopped carrying the color. Bratty couldn't find a lipstick that would both fit her and stay onto her scales, which was a mess all on its own.

The most you did was grabbing several cups of coffee, but at least by the end of the day you weren't tired. Sure, that had its own challenges, but it was better than being exhausted. After searching the entire mall for a new dye for Catty, you all headed home together. It was oddly quiet when you got to your floor, but you were great full for it. You couldn't wait for a good night's sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay? Cool? It was all dialogue il sorry ugh. Also, I'm kind of worried about the two next chapters? And for two completely different reasons. Who let me make choices what the heck
> 
> (Ps I love you guys)


	18. Not so bone-tired now, huh?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said it would be up Sunday, so might as well post it at midnight. Also, over 6,000 hits????? How the heck????? Thank you all so so so much.
> 
> [My Main Blog](http://centerofprocrastination.tumblr.com)
> 
> [Come ask me questions, or any of the characters.](http://ficfrustration.tumblr.com)

After several hours of trying to be, you still weren't tired from your day out with your new friends. Even though you weren't yet sleepy, you had changed into your pajamas and curled up in bed with your phone. You lay there for what must have been an hour, switching between games and social media, before your phone buzzed with life, a text appearing on your screen.

" _you up?_ " It was Sans.

" _Yeah. Can't sleep?"_

_"i've been laying around here for hours."_

_"You could come over. I wouldn't mind hanging out for a bit."_ How would you explain that to Bratty and Catty.

" _you sure?"_

_"Of course, haha. The door is unlocked."_

You went back to your games, tapping away on your screen. After a minute you heard the front door open and close softly, and you sat up in bed. It only took a few seconds for Sans to appear in front of your door in his basketball shorts and a shirt with cartoon-looking ribs on it. As his eyes swept over you, slowly meeting yours, you realized that you probably should have changed into something that covered your body more than a tank top and shorts.

"hey," he grinned awkwardly, standing in the doorway.

"Hey," you smiled, patting the space next to you.

Sans took a seat on the edge of your bed before pushing himself further onto the sheets. "i hadn't really thought about what we'd do when i got here."

"Talk?" You suggested, shifting your legs under you.

"about what?"

You thought for a moment, your face scrunching up. "I like to know the little things." You looked up at him, and it was clear you'd have to explain, "Stuff like birthdays, or your favorite movies or shows, or your favorite food."

"easy, pap's spaghetti is my favorite food." Sans looked like he was going through a million questions, even though you hadn't even asked many. "your favorite animal?"

You grinned, happy that he got the idea. "Cats. I love all animals, but cats are just so awesome. They really aren't jerks like everyone says." You couldn't help steal a glance at his hands, just sitting there. "Favorite book?"

"easy, my joke book," he took your hand in his, running a boney thumb over the back of your hand. Your heart skipped a beat. "what time of year do ya like the most?"

"I like it in the Spring, when it's not too warm or hot, and kind of rainy. I'm not too picky on weather. Favorite song?"

"never gonna give you up. drink?"

"Tea. Favorite number?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "3.14159265-"

"Okay, okay, I get it, Pi. What's your favorite color?

He paused for a moment, and it felt like that night on the couch, when he wasn't looking at you, but through you. You smiled at him, but you could still feel that tugging in your chest you got when you were with him. It felt almost stronger than usual, and this time, it actually felt like something might pop out. You were focused on the feeling when he finally answered you.

"it used to be blue, but..." Sans trailed off. He looked perplexed, still staring through you. You focused on the feeling in your chest, that utter need to do.... Something. He ran a thumb over the back of your hand again, and you pushed at that feeling. "now it's violet." You could have sworn that there was an audible pop. Your chest felt more relaxed now, but also empty, like something has been taken out.

The lighting in the room changed slightly, as did the atmosphere. "Mines blue, it always has been. Like, a cyan color."

"babe," Sans wasn't looking through you any more, but instead in front of you. Following his eyes, you looked out into the space between you. Floating there was a small, cartoon-like heart. It was purple, but very light colored. Periwinkle, maybe. The heart was almost shiny, as if it were made of glass. It floated there, giving off a purple glow.

"Sans, what is that?" You had never seen anything like it. It was just _floating_ there, as if it was a normal thing to do!

"how did you do that?" The skeleton in front of you looked more shocked than anything. Ever so slowly, he let go of your hand, and lifted both of his to the heart. Right before he touched it though, he stopped, blue appearing on his skull. He laughed, low and deep, but it was half-hearted. "i should know better than to just go touching people's souls."

"Soul? What do you mean, 'soul'?" You looked down at his hands, wishing that they would have grabbed that- soul? Whatever it was, it felt attached to you, as if it were connected to you by invisible strings.

"it's a shame that you humans don't learn about souls like monsters do." Sans sighed, dropping one of his hands. "babe, heh, this is your soul. your very being. souls are very delicate, but humans have the strongest souls. it would take every last monster soul just to amount to the power of a human."

"Power?" Everything that was going on had you at a loss for words. Souls were real, and yours was right in front of you. You must have been dreaming.

"i'm not the best person for this, babe. maybe you should ask frisk, or maybe tori."

There was a moment of silence as the two of you watched your soul, bobbing in the air. "You have a soul too?" Sans nodded, but he was incapsulated by the show in front of him."Could I," you paused, not sure of the implementations, "Could I see it?"

That got his attention. Sans' head snapped to attention, his eyes staring into yours. "...i s'pose so."

You both were quiet, and before you knew it, there was another soul in front of you. It was the same color as one of your band tees, the color of when Sans blushed. It was your favorite color. Sans had shown his soul without any trouble, and you were slightly jealous. But more than anything, you cared about the precious blue heart in front of you.

At some point, your hands had made their way up to his soul. You caressed it, sliding a thumb over it's surface. Solid. Hard. Something ran through you, a million thoughts at once, but it went by too fast. Sans inhaled sharply, and you apologized.

"no, no, just warn me next time."He spoke shakily, sounding odd with such a deep voice.

"Can I-" Sans nodded before you could ask; somehow knowing. You brought both hands up to his soul, cupping it gently. You moved it slightly, proving to yourself that it was in fact real. The time passed, maybe seconds, maybe minutes, and you still couldn't believe how beautiful it was. This 'soul,' it seemed to bring some kind of understanding to you, like it told you more about Sans than you could ever know. You grabbed each side of the soul between your thumb and forefinger, tilting it one way or another. Before you thought about it, you squeezed.

Sans made a noise you never would have expected, and when you looked up you realized that his skull was nearly as blue as his soul. He was also covered in beads of sweat and breathing heavily. Had you done something wrong?

"Shit, sorry!" You let go of the soul, and Sans brought it to his chest. It looked as if he pushed it in, like it was a drawer.

"should have warned you. souls can be pretty," he paused, trying to find the word, "intimate. and i never thought that you would have done that." Sans was stumbling over his words, trying to put everything into simple terms. His skull was finally returning to its normal color.

Silence.

"You could still hold mine."

"babe, 's not that simple,"

"I kind of wish you would have touched mine, actually. It feels weird, and for some reason," you blushed, realizing that it was more awkward than you thought. "It's hard to focus on anything else."

Sans' skull turned a vibrant shade of cyan again, and you smiled at how cute it was. "you sure?"

You nodded, but Sans stayed still. "Sans, I'm sure. I trust you." As the words came out of your mouth, your soul glowed more, in a short little burst.

He reached out again, cupping your soul in his hands and pulling it toward him. The two of you stayed like that for a bit, you staring at him, and him staring at your soul. After what felt like an eternity, Sans ran his thumb over the surface of your soul. It sent unexpected waves of magic over you, just that one touch. It would be a lie to say that you didn't make a noise. Because you did, in fact, moan. And of course, with your luck, it was very loud.

"heh, 's pretty cute." Sans was smirking, but his eyes were so focused. Focused on you. Well, your soul, but wasn't that technically you? And was that _seriously_ his reaction to that? A moan that loud and he calls it cute? You were almost offended, but the sight of him made it fade away. Or at least, for a moment.

You looked at your soul, the questions flooding in. Souls were real? They were physical? Why were they shaped like that? Why was yours purple? Why was Sans' blue? Were all souls different colors? Could you see other peoples' souls? Could Sans always see your soul? Could all monsters see your soul? But wouldn't that make it NOT private?

By the time you started paying attention again, Sans had dropped your soul, motioning as if he was pushing it back into your chest- which he was. That empty feeling was gone, and you were pretty grateful. There were so many things going through your head, and it felt like there was twice as many since you had touched his soul. It had warn you out, too. You were finally tired again, just when you didn't want to be.

"you okay?"

You blinked, focusing on him and then his hand on your thigh, which he quickly removed. "Oh, yeah, just,"

"it's a lot, yeah." He nodded an unsure look on his face.

"Hey, Sans? We're, like, official, right?"

His face took on a shocked look again, like you had just struck a blow to his chest. "we weren't already?"

"Well, we just didn't really discuss it, and-"

"babe." He interrupted you, rolling his eyes, "do you think i would have took you out on dates if i didn't like you? or kissed you? or let you touch my soul?"

You laughed, leaning against him. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry, guess I'm just a bit of a worry wort."

"worry wort?"

"Yeah, it's some expression my parents always used." You shrugged. Sometimes you forgot that the monsters weren't used to all of these phrases and sayings like you were.

He nodded, taking your hand in his again. This time, though, he moved it around, turning it this way or that, like you had his soul. "'s weird, y'know? that you're the same underneath, under all of the skin and muscle and blood."

"We're all _bone_ ified people." You grinned, knowing that Sans would appreciate the bad pun.

Sans nodded, chuckling. "paps woulda screamed at that one."

"Yeah, but he's not here." You absentmindedly cuddled up to him, yawning. He looked tired too, but then again, Sans always looked tired.

"ya feelin tired?" He asked, the sleepiness showing in his own voice as well.

"That obvious?" You raised an eyebrow at him, smiling when he wrapped his arm around you. "You know, you're pretty cuddly for a bag of bones."

"and you're pretty."

You looked up at him, waiting for him to finish the sentence. He opened an eye after a moment, which had somehow been closed, and grinned at you. _Oh_. That was the sentence. Your face turned pink and you buried it into his side.

"c'mon babe, don't act like you didn't already know." You could feel his bones quivering as he laughed, low and deep. It was more comforting than you thought- leaning against a bunch of bones. But the way he held you against him, the way he breathed slowly, something about it was enough to put you both to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone tell me that you didn't hate this.  
> I've been flipping for like a week over this and I'd really like feedback, wether it be negative or positive.
> 
> Also [You Should Probably Look At This](http://www.colorhexa.com/b99ae0)


	19. Dressed to Impress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter is late, sorry guys. But hey, it's longer than usual.
> 
> [My Main Blog](http://centerofprocrastination.tumblr.com)
> 
>  
> 
> [Come ask questions to me or any of the characters.](http://ficfrustration.tumblr.com)

"oh, uh, heya kiddo."

"Mnn" you groaned, attempting to roll over in your bed. But before you could, your body hit something solid, hard, even. You immediately cuddled up to it, before you realized that something- some _one_ was in your bed. "What th-" You looked up, your eyes slowly adjusting to see Sans. He had the laziest, sleepiest grin on his face, and all you could think about was how absolutely adorable it was. Or at least until you heard a small grunt from the foot of you bed.

There stood Frisk, their hands flying in a blur of words, too fast for you to catch more than a few words. After a moment they moved their head from Sans to you, not that there was a big distance. Or, really, any distance. Frisk started to sign again, and the change in their pace was enough to make you frown.

They said something about Sans- or as they called him, "dunkle," something about Papyrus, and then something that you had to assume was another name. You were incredibly grateful that you had started to pick it up again, using your breaks at work to study. Frisk said something about travel and missing, and something about Toriel too. But before you could piece it together, Sans motioned for your attention, pulling you closer to him still. Had his arm been around you all night? Hell, when did you even fall sleep?

"kiddo's sayin that they thought paps and i were gonna be home. tori went to go grab something for the pie. they came to welcome home the piece of scrap metal."

Frisk signed angrily, but the deep frown on their face just seemed cute to you.

"alright, alright, calm your britches kid." Sans slowly let go of his grip on you, sliding off of the bed. "hey, we'll catch ya later, alright?"

Raising an eyebrow, Frisk began signing again. You didn't catch much, but you could have sworn that you saw the word "girlfriend."

Sans chuckled, ruffling the kids' hair. "you wanna ask her, or me?"

Frisk signed again, a smug look on their face. That was definitely the word "girlfriend." It sounded... nice.

The skeleton looked back to you, shoving his hands into his pockets. "they were wondering if you'd wanna meet mettaton?"

"Wait, Mettaton? Like, the one who has a bazillion movies?" You asked, eyebrows raised.

"the one and only."

"Um, well, yeah, of course. If have to get ready first and," it struck you as you hopped out of bed, "And shower, of course." How could you not have showered after everything yesterday?

"just come on over when you're ready," Sans stopped for a moment, watching Frisk's hands, "kiddo wants to show you their new game."

You nodded, and as they turned to leave, you could have sworn that there was this blue glow behind his teeth. Frisk must have seen it too, because they snickered as they left, signing something to the monster.

And so you were left to your own for a bit, but you didn't want to waste time, so you quickly grabbed things from your closet, not paying much attention to what you picked up, and jumped into the shower. You washed about as quickly as you could, dressed, and set on doing your hair and makeup.

It couldn't have even been half an hour before there was a knock on your bathroom door. It wasn't loud, but you still jumped, nearly stabbing yourself in the eye with mascara. Hesitantly, you opened the door, revealing Frisk on the other side.

"Hey Frisk, what's up?" You kneeled a bit, until you became eye level with the child.

They signed slowly, and with the help of a little charades, you managed to understand what they meant.

"He locked himself out, really?" Frisk nodded, and you sighed, shaking your head. "Let's go get that dork."

Frisk happily took your hand, leading you out of your apartment and into the hallway where you faced Sans, his cheeks tinted blue. As you reached the skeleton, Frisk somehow slipped your hand from theirs to Sans' in one move, wiggling their eyebrows so fast that you thought they might vibrate off of their face.

"You know you could have told me yourself, right?"

"you were in the shower, how was i s'possed to-"

"And the sending Frisk was a better idea? Oh, come on Sans," you shook your head, taking them back to your apartment. "You guys can do whatever, I'll just finish getting ready."

"w-woah"

You turned your head to face Sans, following his blushing gaze. Of course, you blushed too, seeing that he was checking you out. "Sans, are you really-"

"tryin to impress me, huh?" You had never seen his grin so big, so sincere.

"Why would I be trying to impress you?"

Frisk tugged on your pants, looking at you as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Frowning, you looked at your pants, and your face turned pink. "Oh, crap. I didn't even think about it." Skeleton leggings. You were wearing your skeleton leggings. You had practically forgotten about them, you almost never wore them because of how tight they were. But how could you forget about them? And how could you not have noticed when you put them on?

"gotta admit, it's kinda working." Oh no, he was gonna- "and _tibia_  honest," there it is, "they look really good on you." He strolled in front of you, releasing your hand along the way.

Frisk looked between the two of you, the smuggest grin on their face. "He thinks you're hot," they signed.

"Oh does he?" You asked, following Sans.

Frisk nodded, signing something else, but you were at a loss again. They scrunched up their face, wondering how to act it out, and it was obvious that they didn't know either.

"Wait, I got this!" Nodding to the kid, you ran into your kitchen, taking the small white board off of the refrigerator door and bringing it back to the living room. Frisk was now sitting on the couch next to Sans, who was in the middle. The skeleton quickly made room for you in the other side, but you sat next to Frisk on the edge instead, showing them the board. You handed them a marker, and wrote on the board. " _This way we can talk without someone translating"_

" _He thinks you're pretty_ " they wrote next to your own writing.

"watcha got there, kiddo?" Sans moved to look at the board, but Frisk quickly turned it to block his view. They held each other's gaze for a few minutes before Sans gave up, grabbing the remote to turn on the TV.

" _I think he likes your soul_." They wrote after erasing everything else.

You blushed, laughing awkwardly. " _How would you know that?"_

 _"Were you doing your makeup?_ "

Well, okay, changing subjects much? Deciding not to dwell on it, you responded, " _Yeah, I've got to go finish though_ "

" _Can you do mine?_ " Frisk wrote. As your face scrunched up, they quickly scribbled, " _mom says I'm already pretty, but I want to look super cute for TonTon!_ "

"That's so cute," you squeaked, hurriedly covering your mouth, " _we should really ask your mom_ "

Frisk nodded as you erased the board. They turned to Sans, tugging on his sleeve. Just then you noticed that he was back to wearing his normal white shirt- how had that happened? You know he had been wearing a different shirt this morning, the one with the cartoon ribs. So how had Sans changed his shirt.

"jeesh babe, you're gonna burn a whole through my shirt if ya keep starin like that."

"Eh?" You blinked, focusing onto his face instead of his- oh God you had been staring at his chest. Er, ribs?

"not that i'm complainin, I don't really have the heart for it." He winked, that somehow possible movement making you roll your eyes.

Frisk stuck out their tongue, closing their eyes tightly before they began to sign something to Sans again.

"text tori, huh? you sure she'll allow it?"

Frisk nodded, signing something else- it was too hard to make out from where you were sitting.

"hey, the kiddo thinks you're pretty, babe."

You smiled, raising an eyebrow, "Oh do they? And why were they telling you?"

Frisk signed something with a temper, something you realized happened often with your jokester of a boyfriend.

Boyfriend? Yeah, boyfriend. God, how were you gonna tell your parents that you were dating a skeleton?!

"cause i think you're pretty too." He rolled his eyes at you, pulling his phone out of his pocket. Sans' fingers tapped quickly into the small keypad in a blur, too small and fast for you to see. You had almost forgotten that he used a flip phone. It only made sense, after all, he has no finger tips to press to the screen.

Before there was even a reply, Frisk hopped up from the couch, grabbing the whiteboard in one hand, and your hand in the other, pulling you to the bathroom. They were pretty strong for a kid, especially one of their size. You followed them into the room, leaving the door open behind you. Frisk quickly took a seat on the edge of the bathtub, though they were almost vibrating with excitement.

" _I'll finish mine while we wait, okay?_ " you wrote. After a moment, Frisk nodded, and you went back to work. Just as you finished up, Sans appeared in the doorway out of nowhere, making you jump.

"hey kiddo, got some good news," Sans walked up to you, slinging his arms around your waist. That was pretty, uh, forward of him. Sure, there was something this morning that had made you want to stay cuddled up to him for hours, but you didn't want to seem clingy. "tori says s'all good, as long as you get it off before bed time."

If he had lungs, you'd be able to feel his breath on the back of your neck. You weren't sure if it drove you more insane, knowing that you were barely breathing, but for a completely different reason. "Yeah, yeah, I've got makeup wipes. Guess that means we can do you up, huh?" You laughed awkwardly, putting as much attention onto Frisk as you could. How was that so distracting?

Sans' grip tightened for a moment before he let go, like some sort of half hug. "anyway i can help?"

Frisk made a simple gesture, drawing their hand from their neck downwards.

"Oh, crap, I should have thought of that. I didn't even think to feed you guys!" You groaned, leaning against the counter.

"don't worry 'bout it, i'll go pick somethin up, make it easy," He spun you around for a quick kiss, another thing you hadn't expected, and he was gone.

You stood there, dumbfounded. Frisk was sticking out their tongue, a disgusted look on their face. After a moment, you shook yourself out of the daze and turned to the child. "So, what look are we going for?"

" _I want to look like you!_ " They wrote, a huge smile on their face.

By the time you were done, you were both pretty happy with your work. You had let Frisk pick out the colors, though you had to show them which would match. (Maybe not bright purple and lime green.) Frisk demanded eyeliner as well, telling you that Mettaton would be proud of them. It was difficult, seeing as Frisk didn't know how to stay completely still. Just as you were finishing up, you heard Sans in the other room. He was clearly being loud on purpose, making his presence clear. Frisk was jumping up and down again, shaking with excitement.

"Alright, go show him," you motioned to the door, and Frisk bolted down the hall. You quickly packed everything back up, eager to see everyone's reaction too. Who could blame you though? It's difficult enough to do makeup, let alone on a child!

"babe, you did a really good job," Sans spoke from behind you, leaning against the doorframe.

"I'm just glad they like it," you laughed, giving a light shrug.

"oh, i got the food. kid's already eating, i think they're settin up candy land,"

"Wait, Sans?" It just hit you.

"mm?"

"How did you get there? If you didn't have the keys to your apartment, then you wouldn't have them to the car either. And Papyrus has the car anyways, doesn't he?" The words were practically pouring out, "And you changed your shirt this morning, and I know you don't have clothes here, so you must have-"

"babe." You finally stopped, your mouth still agape, "remember when we met?"

"Obviously?"

"do ya remember when we were moving you in-"

"What do you mean "we"? You didn't help," you argued.

"i moved the couch," he pointed out.

You had forgotten about that by now, even if it was incredibly strange. "Well, it's not like you can teleport or anything," He gave you this look, the kind of look your parents would give you when they know you aren't telling the whole truth, "Wait, can you teleport?"

"'s a bit more complicated than that, but basically, yeah."

"Then," you paused, trying to process this. After all, he was a magical skeleton, so teleportation paled in comparison. "You lied about being locked out, didn't you?"

Sans' cheeks turned blue, his smile awkward, "it was the kid's idea, not mine." He shook his head, audibly swallowing. How did that even work? "we should go eat, y'know, before it gets cold."

Sighing, you nodded and took his hand. This seemed to surprise him, which made you smile. "I'm not mad, Sans. I'd anything, I'm happy you told me, I guess." You weren't sure if you sounded convincing, but you were more concerned with processing the new information.

There was a knock on the door, and you were tempted to run and open it. Just before you did, Sans squeezed your hand, keeping you in place. "it's open!" He yelled, strolling with you to the living room.

Toriel opened the door, her arms full of grocery bags. You were quick to take as many as you could, setting them on the counter top. "It seems I went a little over the top," she giggled.

"it is mettaton after all, over the top is what he does best."

"Well, he'll appreciate it more than, won't he?" She asked, following your lead and placing the bags onto the counter. "Sorry for the delay, I got caught up talking about snails with Napstablook, you know how it is," Before either other of you could reply, the goat woman was practically tackled by her child. "Oh, hello my child!" She brushed back Frisk's hair, moving it away from their face. They quickly pointed to their face, showing off the makeup. "Very beautiful, dear," Toriel kissed the top of their head, then mouthed the words "thank you" to you and Sans.

"tori, i can let you into the apartment if you want to start cooking."

You gave Sans a playful glare, elbowing him in the side. "You could always cook here, I'd even help,"

Toriel gave you a grateful smile, hugging Frisk to her side before they went to eat more. Sans followed behind the child, but not before kissing your cheek. "I would love that, thank you, child."

"It's not problem, really." You shrugged it off, "What are we making?"

"Cinnamon Butterscotch pie, it's Frisk's favorite."

The two of you went to work, running around the kitchen. Pies weren't exactly your forte, but you weren't bad at them either. Toriel worked through the steps with you, and she continually thanked you for helping. At one point Sans demanded that you both took a break to eat the food he had bought. You were thankful, the smell had been making you more and more hungry. For the most part, Sans played with Frisk, but he'd occasionally come in, just to bug you and make jokes. You discovered in the baking process that Toriel had fire magic, and that it really sped along the cooking. The pie was finished in what seemed like no time, so you both joined Sans and Frisk in their game of Candy Land.

Sans is good at Candy Land, you discovered. _Very_ good, actually. Maybe you just had bad luck when you played with them, but for the second time you were getting absolutely creamed at a board game. Sans relished in it, teasing you about it the whole game.

"That's it, I give up. You can play the next round without me." You said after Sans won another game, laying your head against the couch.

"oh, c'mon babe, s no fun if you throw a fit." Sans teased, his grin as smug as ever.

"It's no fun when you make fun of me either!"

  
Before he could make his rebuttal, there was noise out in the hallway, several people all talking at once. You all looked to the door, racing to stand up.

The door opened and a robotic, yet awfully melodious voice rang through the room, "HELLO DARLINGS!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so so much, you can't believe how grateful I am. I'm super grateful that you guys didn't hate the last chapter by the way,I was so worried. Oh, and did anyone notice the hint in the comments? It was p dumb but whatever. This chapter is actually a lot longer than I thought, this was originally gonna be like half of a chapter.


	20. Oh, how the TABLEs have turned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writers block is a bitch lmao
> 
> I feel like there's extra cussing in this one, if any of you have a problem with profanity.
> 
> And as always, my links: 
> 
> [My Main Blog](http://centerofprocrastination.tumblr.com)
> 
>  
> 
> [Come ask questions to me or any of the characters.](http://ficfrustration.tumblr.com)

"Long time no see, beauties." Mettaton glided across the room, taking long, elegant steps. He kissed the top of Frisks' head, and nodded briefly to Sans. "It's wonderful to see you all again," there was a pause as his head swiveled to the right, facing you, "with a new addition!" Mettaton took a step towards you, taking your hand in his own and bringing it to his lips.

It threw you off a bit, but you weren't sure if it was because Mettaton was being so formal, or because someone other than Sans was kissing you. You could see Sans out of the corner of your eye, and it was clear that he agreed with the latter.

"Hey, I'm, uh," you couldn't even get the sentence out before a metal finger pressed against your lips, silencing you.

"Oh, darling, I've already heard all about you from my lovely Pappy! And I'm sure you know who I am, so there's really no need for introductions, hmm?"

Or maybe Sans was bristling because of something else?

"Oh has he?" You smiled at Papyrus, whose cheeks were already aflame.

"course he has, my bro knows a good person when he sees one." Sans looked Mettaton up and down, his eyes half-lidded in a bored expression. "usually, at least."

"We made pie!" Toriel broke in, surely saving the day.

"Oh Toriel, how I've missed your fabulous cooking!" Mettaton followed the goat monster into the kitchen, quickly tailed by Frisk and Papyrus.

"So punk," Undyne drew the attention to herself and Alphys, who was still standing in front of the door. She was quick to get in your face, an eyebrow raised, "have you two kissed yet?"

"U-Undyne! You can't just s-say something like th-that!" Alphys stopped, looking between you and Sans. "H-have you?"

"Well, yeah," you began. Suddenly Sans was at your hip again, leaning against you. "A couple times, I guess."

"S-so, are you two of-ficial?"

"course we are," Sans answered for you, "we wouldn't be kissing if we weren't dating."

Before you could even ask what he meant, his mouth was pressed to your lips, kissing you in a way that most people wouldn't do in front of their friends. Just as you let yourself melt into the kiss, he pulled away, smirking.

"we gave em a show, it'll drive em crazy." He whispered into your ear.

In turn, your face became pink. You looked over at the two girl monsters who were, to Sans' credit, freaking out. They were talking to each other, way too fast for you to make anything out. Well, at least Sans wasn't wrong. Then again, he totally just left you hanging. You made a mental note to get him back later.

"_______ darling, would you join us in the kitchen for a moment?" the robot's melodious voice rang from the kitchen.

"Oh, yeah!" You slipped away from whatever was happening- it sounded like Undyne and Alphys were talking about some comic now- and into the kitchen. "What's up?"

"Our lovely Toriel is wondering about the seating. You know, you really should keep extra chairs, you never know when you might have company!" Papyrus and Frisk nodded along to everything he said, agreeing completely.

"It's just that I haven't lived here long, so I don't have a lot of furniture." You laughed awkwardly, scorning yourself for not thinking that through.

"HUMAN, WE COULD GET ADDITIONAL SEATING FROM MY AND MY BROTHER'S APARTMENT! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS INCREDIBLY STRONG." Frisk signed something to Papyrus, using their spare arm to keep clinging to Mettaton's leg. "OH, YOU MAKE A VERY GOOD POINT. HUMAN, YOU SHOULD TAKE SANS WITH YOU."

"That's a wonderful idea, dear," Mettaton pushed you out of the kitchen, "Go, go, take your time!"

"Uh, okay," you blinked, wondering what exactly has just happened. "C'mon, gotta get chairs." Grabbing Sans' hand, you pulled him out the door.

"heh, just chairs?" He had that smug grin on his face, the one that made you-

Okay, you really wanted to kiss him. That damned grin.

"We'll see," stopping in front of the door, you waited for Sans to unlock the door. He simply snapped his fingers and opened the door, walking in. What. The. Hell.

"they do realize that they sent two of the shortest people, right?" He asked, heading to his table and grabbing one of the chairs.

"Sans." You crossed your arms, looking at him.

"hm?" He looked at you, and his browbone raised. "what?"

"What was with that kiss earlier?" Yeah, smooth ______, real smooth.

"trust me, it was the only way to keep em at bay." You gave Sans an unbelieving look, making him sigh, "you really want em to keep drillin you with questions?"

"Fair enough," you shrugged, watching as he put down the chair, looking vaguely confused. "Thanks, Sans." Without wasting time, you closed the space between you and Sans, kissing him with a passion that you hadn't shown before. Honestly, it surprised you as much as it did Sans. The kiss was weird, though. Usually it felt as if Sans almost had lips, ones that you couldn't see, but you could feel the hardness of his teeth this time. Part of you was trying to focus on that, on the weird magical things that your boyfriend did, but the rest of you was distracted by the amazing kiss.

Sans hadn't missed a beat, quickly taking over the kiss. Before you knew it, you were backed against the dining table with Sans' hand in your hair. His other hand was wrapped around your torso, keeping you close. Without hesitation you jumped up onto the table, scooting back just enough to sit comfortably. Sans was quickly up against you again, but he never lost connection to your lips. He kept kissing harder and harder, even biting at your lips. Okay, so maybe this isn't what you had planned, but God did it feel right. His mouth on yours, pressed up against each other, there were very few things that could make this more perfect.

You were probably taking an awkwardly long time for chairs, if you thought about it. The thing is though, that you weren't thinking. For once you were just _doing._ You kept kissing him harder, desperately clinging to him. There was suddenly something warm and wet running across your lips, like it was trying to get in.

Wait.

What.

You yelped, pushing away from Sans. "What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck," the words came out so fast that they were nearly indistinguishable. With wide eyes, you looked over Sans, your heart pounding. He was sweaty- nothing you hadn't seen before. Breathing heavily- no lungs but not unusual. There was lipstick on his teeth- courtesy of you. It looked good on him. And there was that blue glow behind his teeth. You'd seen it before, but never up close like this. What could that even be?

"shit, i shoulda said somethin first-"

"Sans, what the fuck?" You demanded.

"i, uh," he paused, simply opening his mouth to reveal a cyan blue tongue. It was the same color as his soul, as his blush. As his magic.

"Jeez Sans, warn a girl next time." There was awkward laughter between both of you, and you couldn't help but stare at his tongue. "Okay, how are you doing that?"

"magic."

"I should've known you'd say that. So you can, like, uh,"

"lemme show ya,"

Sans leaned in for another kiss, cupping your face in his hands. His kiss was gentle, but you could feel that pressure behind it, that want and intent. You gladly pressed yourself against him again, but you knew that the mood was different. It wasn't all energetic and heated, it was slow, steady, solid. They were both amazing- he was amazing. He was so incredibly, outstandingly amazing. And, hey, he was all yours.

You were so lost in your thoughts that you barely even noticed when his tongue came out this time, hitting your lips. Now used to the fact that the skeleton had a tongue, you opened your mouth, letting him to his business. It felt like any other tongue, except for that electricity, that tingling, that magic feeling you got from only him. It made you melt into him, your thoughts fade out. It was like those stupid movie and book tropes suddenly made sense. Like only you and Sans existed in that moment, only the two of you mattered. Everything else simply disappeared.

"Ehem!" The voice glitched.

Both of you broke apart suddenly, startled. You nearly fell back onto the table, but Sans' grip saved you at the last second.

"I know I told you to take your time darling, but really?" Mettaton sighed, strolling over to you and Sans.

"c'mon mettaton, you're ruining the moment," Sans huffed.

"Well excuse me if I don't want you boning someone where we eat breakfast!"

"Woah there," you interrupted, "Who said anything like that? And, I mean," you motioned to Sans, "skeleton?"

"Oh darling, you're so innocent." Mettaton purred, stroking your hair.

Sans caught onto the robot's arm, glaring at him. "hands off."

"Well then," Metta blinked at him, then turned to you, slowly retracting his hand, "You two should join us, Toriel has already passed out the pie." And with that, he spun on his foot and walked out, hips swaying in a way you knew was fake.

"Guess we should head back, huh?" You asked after the robot was out of earshot.

"mhm," Sans gave you another quick kiss before stepping back. He took a glance at what you now knew was your soul, and his smile grew immensely. He gave you another kiss, lingering for a moment, "how'd i get so lucky, huh?"

"Very cute, babe." You hopped off of the table, heading towards the door.

"woah, i'm babe now?"

"Would you rather me go back to Bones?"

"nah, 's too easy," Sans shrugged, following you back to the apartment hand in hand.

Everyone was already eating, huddled around the TV. Toriel, Frisk, and Mettaton sat on the couch. Alphys was curled up next to her girlfriend on the floor, and Papyrus was in the bean bag chair. Undyne was the first one to look up, letting out a loud groan. "See? Those punks didn't even bring the chairs!"

"UNDYNE, PLEASE DO NOT TALK WITH YOUR MOUTH FULL!"

"You owe me f-five bucks," Alphys teased her, smirking.

"looks like we didn't need em anyways." Sans plopped into the floor next to Papyrus.

You sat next to the shorter of skeletons, laying your head his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around you. Hugging you to his side. "What are we watching?"

"Shark week!" Everyone yelled. Well, everyone other than you, Sans, and Mettaton.

"nice," Sans whispered.

"Oh my," Mettaton drew all eyes off of the television and to him. He had one hand against his mouth, the other holding a hot pink iPhone. "I should be checking into my hotel!"

"THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL TAKE YOU!" Papyrus attempted to jump out of the chair, instead toppling out of it.

"That's a wonderful idea, Pappy dear." The robot cooed."

"Why don't we meet up with you punks then?" Undyne suggested.

"Y-yeah! I m-mean, since you j-just got back and all."

"I'm afraid that Frisk and I have prior plans, but we'd love to join you another time." Toriel offered, "Speaking of which, we must be off my children."

She stood up with Frisk, and everyone was hugging goodbye. You stood back, unsure of what to do. Yet again, Undyne was the one to notice.

Undyne sighed, rolling her eyes- well, eye. "Get in here, punk." She nodded you over, and you awkwardly obliged.

You were surprised that you weren't skipped over by anyone, considering that you were so new. They were all so kind. As you watched them leave your apartment, you couldn't help but think, hey, I could get used to this.

"you don't mind if i stick around, do ya?" Sans asked, making you jump

"What, you aren't best friends with Mettaton?" You joked.

"think i've seen enough of that hunk of scrap metal today," he groaned.

You laughed, throwing yourself onto the couch. "Wow, scrap metal? You really don't like him."

Sans chuckled, sitting on the end of the couch. You scooted closer, laying your head in his lap. Sure, not the comfiest, but it was damn cute. "you could say that, yeah." He stroked the hair out of your face, smiling down at you, "there's no way that's comfortable."

Before you could answer him the door slammed open, a triumphant Jay in the doorway. "Guess who's moving to the city!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow guys, thanks for putting up with my shit. I really don't deserve y'all. And not gonna lie I'm pretty proud of this chapter haha. 
> 
> Also extotongues haha
> 
> Don't forget to check out my blogs up top! Thanks for reading!


	21. The One After A Wild Lickitung Appeared

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, things were pretty steamy last chapter, hot dang. Can we just appreciate that "holy shit this skeleton has a tongue" realness for a second? Okay cool.
> 
> I can never thank you guys enough for reading, it truly does mean the world to me.
> 
> And last but certainly not least,
> 
> [Follow me here for my main blog](http://centerofprocrastination.tumblr.com)  
> And  
> [A blog that tells you when I update, things relevant to the fic, and an always open character ask! ](http://ficfrustration.tumblr.com)
> 
> Feel free to ask me questions or talk to me anytime, and enjoy the chapter!

"Jesus Jay, learn to knock," you groaned, too settled in to sit up.

"Wait, is this a bad time?" Jay asked, halting in his walk towards the couch.

"No, no, you're fine. So you're finally moving out?" Sans' hand was still playing with your hair, making you hyper aware of his movements.

Jay nodded, sitting on the edge of the couch, "You say that like I didn't already live in a separate house."

"Still on their prop-" why did everyone think it was okay to interrupt you? And with laughter this time, no less. "What now?"

"Chica, oh, oh my God," Jay snorted, doubling over in laughter, "I can't be-believe- holy shit," He wheezed. "Those p-pants man."

You groaned, covering your face with your hands. "I didn't notice okay? Shut up."

"i think they look great babe." Sans picked up one of your hands, kissing it and setting to your side. Okay, you hadn't been picturing it this morning, he really was being touchy.

"Well of course _you_ do," Jay rolled his eyes, "you're totally into her skelebutt."

Sans chuckled, shrugging. "ya got me there,"

"Okay, can we not talk about my butt? This is too weird."

"What, it's not like we haven't both seen it, Chica!" Jay joked, nudging you. Oh no, why did he have to bring this up?

Sans looked between the you and Jay, his eyes darkening.

"He, uh, he doesn't know, does he?" Jay spoke wearily, leaning away.

"no. is there something i should know?"

"Sans, honey, it isn't what you're thinking." You shook you head, sitting up.

"Honey?" Jay laughed, apparently forgetting his fear from a moment ago, "You guys are so mushy."

The skeleton raised an eyebrow- or his equivalent to one- waiting for an answer. You elbowed Jay in the ribs, prompting him to shut up.

"It was just this time, sophomore year, Jay was at my house and he walked in on me changing." Shaking your head at the memory, of how embarrassed you had been, you decided to leave out the part where Jay had been so awestruck that he had stood in your doorway, mouth agape, until you noticed him and screamed.

"n that's it?" Sans asked, eyeing you. He kept giving Jay dirty looks, and you hated it.

"Come here, bone head," You grabbed his face in your hands, pressing a kiss to his teeth. It just now struck you how raw your lips felt, how obviously your face must've shown the prior activities of your day. Sans was trying to deepen the kiss, but you pulled away, not about to let yourself get caught up in that again.

"If you need some alone time," Jay started, earning him another jab to the ribs. "Okay, okay, I get it."

Sans was giving you somewhat of a pleading look, so you took his hand in yours, lacing your fingers through his. "So, you're moving to the city?"

"Yeah, it's a couple minutes away, but guess who else is in the building?" He wiggled his eyebrows, smirking.

"I have no clue, who?"

"So I was moving the couch in,"

"You didn't think to tell me sooner? Jay, what the hell!"

"And we were halfway up the stairs, when who did I see but," he paused, no doubt for dramatic effect, "Muds!"

You gasped, letting go of Sans' hand to grab onto Jay. "You did not,"

"I did too." He smiled triumphantly, "We were talking, and I got her new phone number and everything."

"I haven't seen her since- well, it's been forever!" You couldn't help but squeal, you were full of excitement.

"But that isn't even the best part,"

"Better than Maduh?"

"Try Maduh's girlfriend."

You gasped, smiling, "Are you sure?"

"I'm pretty damn sure, Chica."

You pumped your fist in the air, challenging Papyrus with how loud you were being. "Yes! We fucking called it!"

"so, uh, who's maduh?" Sans asked from behind you, utterly lost.

"She was our friend from high school. Oh, Sans, I can't wait for you to meet her!" You smiled at him, receiving a blank face in return.

"meet her?"

"Well, yeah," you tilted your head to the side, "I've met your friends, I just thought you'd want to meet mine too," trailing off, you stared at the floor. Did he not want to?

"nah, 's not what i meant babe." Sans shook his head, taking your hand back and running his thumb over your knuckles, "you deal with my family all the time, course i wanna meet yours."

"Woah dude, her family?" Jay leaned past you to face Sans, a serious look on his face. Wait, Jay, being serious? How rare.

Sans' cheeks were dusted blue, and he was suddenly avoiding looking at you. "yeah?"

Jay eyed him, pursing his lips. "You think you're ready?"

"Jay!"

"No, let me talk about this, Chica. Best friends, remember?" You huffed in response, crossing your arms. He continued, "So Sans, you like my friend?"

"obviously." Not the time to get snarky, Sans.

"How much?"

"Nope, nope, you're not doing this."

"i-"

You pointed at Sans, raising your voice again, "Don't you dare answer him."

They both rolled their eyes at you, but Sans was the first to talk.

"yknow, it takes a lotta _spine_  to ask somethin like that,"

"I'm going to the bathroom." You grunted, walking away from them, Jay laughing harder than he should have. You could hear them sharing jokes from down the hall. Half of the time you were worried that they'd fight, and the other half of the time you were afraid they'd like each other to much. They were acting like it, anyways. You looked in the mirror, and couldn't help but cringe. What used to be your lipstick was barely a stain- and mostly around your lips. You quickly washed it away, mad at yourself to not thinking to wipe it off or something beforehand. Leaning in more closely, you got a closer look at the state of your lips. Yeah, maybe next time he can make those magic lips of his. Or at least take it easy.

Sighing, you made your way back to the living room, where Jay was playing music on his phone.

"Charmeleon, Wartortle. Mewtwo, Tentacruel, Aerodactyl. Omanyte, Slowpoke. Pidgeot, Arbok - That's all, folks!" Jay ran through the lyrics like it was nothing, finishing the song. It really was nothing- Jay had had the lyrics to the pokerap memorized for nearly a decade.

"You are such a nerd," you ruffled Jay's already messy hair, grabbing his phone from him.

"Hey, your boyfriend brought it up! And the hell are you doing with that?" He tried to grab the phone from you, but you slipped away, opening his contacts.

Looking at Sans, you saw his face was blue again. You made eye contact with him, and he quickly looked away. "Sans, do you really think I'm going to judge you for-" you moved out of Jay's reach again, running to your kitchen, "liking Pokemon?"

Sans' response was muffled by Jay's yelling, chasing after you. You managed to slip past him and into your room, locking the door behind you.

"Trust me!" You spoke trough the door as you added Bratty's number, snickering.

"watcha doin?" Sans peered over your shoulder.

"How the hell?" You squeaked, turning to face the skeleton.

"magic," he shrugged.

"You ever gonna explain that?" Your vision was locked onto the phone, typing in a message to Bratty.

"i was just gonna ask for a goodbye kiss, but if that's how you're gonna be," He clicked his tongue that wasn't there, shaking his head.

"You're leaving?" You broke your gaze with the phone, focusing on Sans instead.

"gotta get to work. not all of us can have three days off."

"I could drive you?"

"m already late. 'sides, my way's a lot quicker." You nodded, smiling as Sans stepped closer. "so bout that goodbye kiss,"

"No getting handsy, sansy."

He wrapped his arms around your waist, closing the distance between you. "not making any promises," he teased, pulling you into a kiss. You struggled to not melt into him, to not become hopeless in his arms. It didn't work.

Jay knocked loudly on your door, stirring you both enough to break apart. "They could hear you two kissing from Greece! Chica, I'm sure he's not _that_  good!"

Heat rose to your face, making you bubble with laughter. "I uh- um, Sans, what, what are you doing tomorrow night?"

"picked up an extra shift, why?" Sans smirked. He knew exactly why, but the fact you were asking made his day.

"Oh, I just figured we could go, uh," there was a groan from outside, "go see Jay! At his new place, yeah!"

"sorry babe, i wish i could. maybe another time." Sans stepped back, his hands in his pockets. "and i know you got all flustered over the whole butt thing," he gestured to your pants, "but hey, those jigglypuffs are lookin nice too." He winked, suddenly vanishing from thin air, leaving you flabbergasted in his wake.

"Chica, come on! I've got places to be." Jay whined from the hall.

Opening the door, you stepped out, tossing Jay his phone and heading to the living room.

"Damn Chica, you're looking redder than my old sneakers." He followed you into the next room, sinking into the bean bag chair.

"Bite me." You slipped out your own phone, replying to one of Papyrus' texts.

"Isn't that Sans' job?"

You simply glared at him, your face already burning. "So how long until you're officially moved in?"

"Should be done tomorrow, you should come hang out."

"I was planning on it, ya goof."

"Maybe you can bring one of your monster friends," Jay gasped at his idea, grinning up at you.

"They're just people Jay, really." You paused, looking at him, "And Bratty is busy."

He laughed, "That's not why I was asking."

"Mhm,"

"Really Chica, I thought you knew me better than that." He feigned hurt, even sniffling. "I guess you don't really know me."

"Jay, I can list your favorite Pokemon from each region. I know that your ringtone is the Super Mario theme. I know that you bought five of the same beanie just so you wouldn't have to pick one out every day."

"Shit, you knew about that last one?"

"I also know that you gave Sans that pickup line."

"Which one did he choose? Was it the pikachu one? The onix?"

"Jay, come on," you laughed, shaking your head.

"It was jigglypuff, wasn't it?"

You gave him a nasty look, the heat rushing to your face again. "Shut up."

"You're being so grumpy today. Not my fault that he gave you blue lips." He looked over at you, taking the strange look on your face as 'what the hell even?' "Y'know, like blue balls. But with kissing."

"Didn't you say you have to go?"

"Oh, yeah!" Jay extracted himself from his chair and pulled you from your seat to hug you. "Really though, stop stressing."

"I'm not stressing, Jay."

"Yeah? And what did you do today?"

You leaned back a bit from the hug to look at him. "Well,"

"Full story, Chica."

"Uhm, first Frisk woke us up, and then I got ready, and then I did their makeup too. Sans brought us food, and Toriel showed up, so I helped her make pie."

"Us? What do you mean, 'us'?"

"Me and Sans." You stated it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You guys slept together?!" Jay screamed. He looked like you had just told him that you killed everything he loved.

"Not like that! Just, he came over last night to talk."

"Talk about what? No, shit, story time. What about the pie?"

You sighed, picking up where you left off. "We finished the pie, Sans kicked my ass at Candy Land, and them Mettaton showed up."

"The transformer?"

"The one with the million movies." Jays face was blank, so you struck a pose that you thought resembled the robot. "Hello beauties and gentlebeauties!" You tried to make your voice deeper like his, but only came off as laughable.

"Ohh yeah, he kinda sucks."

You shrugged, continuing with the story, "They sent me and Sans to get chairs, everyone left, the end."

"I could understand being stressed about the celebrity, but that's still only four people, Chica."

"Papyrus, Undyne, and Alphys were here too. They're the ones who picked up Metta. Plus, they're all really close with Sans, so if I fuck it up with them," you trailed off, chewing on your bottom lip.

"There's no way you'll mess up, you've got this!" Jay gave you one last hug, kissing the top of your head. "They thought I just went to the bathroom, so I better get back."

"Not like you're gonna help." You teased.

"You really do know me." Jay wiped away a fake tear as he left, yelling one last thing. "Love you Chica! And I better see you tomorrow."

"Love you too, Jay!"

You sighed as the door clicked shut behind your best friend. Well, at least you glossed over the whole making out thing. Lounging on the couch again, you turned on the TV. You played around on your phone, making sure to reply to texts for once. Papyrus had been sending you a lot of selfies, all of which incorporated Mettaton in some way. It was cute really, the way Paps was so excited to see him. You received a text from Jay after he got to his new place, telling you that he arrived safely, which you'd both been doing for years.

After a while you realized that Toriel had left your pie in the kitchen, along with Sans'. You reheated it before chowing down. It was the best pie you had ever eaten, no contest. You put Sans' piece in the fridge, spending the rest of the night cleaning up, playing music throughout the apartment. There were dishes to do in the kitchen, the living room, and even a few in your room. You took the chance to do laundry downstairs, meeting a few other monsters while doing so. Even after living in the building for a few weeks, you hadn't really met anyone outside of your floor. That, and skeletons' friends.

It was after 9 by the time you were finished. Sure, you had spent a lot of time doing impromptu dances, but still! You took another shower, relieved to clean yourself after everything today. The dirtiest part of your day hadn't even been the several hour cleaning process.

After your shower, you changed into the comfiest pajamas you could find and climbed into your bed. You plugged in your phone, still playing music, to charge, turning the volume down significantly. Humming along to the songs, you played senseless games on your phone for a while. You were finally getting tired, but God was it hot. There was no way you'd get out of bed now. No way. No way at all.

Okay, maybe if you just put shorts on?

You hopped out of bed, slipping out of your too hot pants. Grabbing your half-folded laundry basket, you searched for a pair of shorts. Every time you thought you had finally found a pair, you were wrong. You had just washed some, where could they be?

"heh,"

"SANS!" You screamed, throwing the clothes at him, successfully covering his face. "Out! Out out out!" You shoved him out of your room, your face bright pink.

"guess jay and i are even now."

"You are so gross!" You walked back into your room,slamming your bedroom door behind you.

There was a moment of silence as you put on shorts, but then from the other side of the door, "just wanted to get a pik-at-chu."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahahahaha  
> Are you done with me yet  
> Cause I sure am  
> Also I really love Pokemon, can you tell?
> 
> Don't forget to check my links, because I'm a shameless self Promotionalist


	22. The One With the Brownies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been almost a month. I have no excuses. No good ones, anyway. So enjoy this long chapter I guess?
> 
> Thank y'all for dealing with me and my slow ass updates. Hope you enjoy it.
> 
> And of course, shameless self promotional links:  
> [Follow me here for my main blog](http://centerofprocrastination.tumblr.com)  
> And  
> [A blog that tells you when I update, things relevant to the fic, and an always open character ask! ](http://ficfrustration.tumblr.com)  
> Please...... Send asks....

Trying to sleep that night was a disaster. Sans had eventually left, understanding that you were too flustered to even look at him, but the thought of him seeing you in your underwear was still driving you insane. Then you were planning a grocery list for Jay, knowing that he wouldn't have food yet. Even if he had lived in a guest house for the last few years, he had never bought his own groceries and rarely cooked for himself. Or at least, he rarely cooked anything healthy. At some point in the night you heard Papyrus come home, later than you had ever known him to stay up.

When you finally did sleep, you were out like a light. However, you woke up early the next morning. You slothed around the house, still tired but not being able to sleep. Jay wouldn't be up for hours, and neither would Sans. You were still too embarrassed to face the skeleton anyways. Papyrus would usually be banging around in his kitchen by now, but he got in late last night so you wouldn't expect him to be awake for a while still.

That gave you an idea, though. Maybe it was just to waste time, or maybe a kind gesture, or maybe it sounded amazing to you. Pancakes. You were going to make pancakes.

You got out all of the ingredients in a sleepy haze. Nothing too fancy, just chocolate chips and toppings. At the last minute you chopped up some strawberries, knowing that the younger brother would throw a fit if there wasn't some sort of fresh vegetable or fruit. It took a while to use up all of the batter, considering how much you had made. Okay, maybe you were overdoing it a bit. Grabbing the huge stack of pancakes, you made your way to the brothers' apartment. You knocked on the door, barely maintaining the balance of the towering breakfast.

"HELLO?" Papyrus swung the door open much sooner than you thought. Had he been waiting for someone? "AH, HUMAN!" He went to hug you but stopped, assessing the luggage in your arms. Looking you over, he picked you up from the waist, squeezing hard enough that you thought you'd pop. "WHY DO YOU HAVE SO MANY PANCAKES?" Papyrus asked, sitting you down.

"I thought we could have breakfast together, it's been a while." You shrugged.

The skeleton nodded, grabbing the plate from you and taking it inside. "SANS SHOULD BE HOME SOON," he informed you, setting the pancakes on the table:

You frowned, tilting your head to the side. "Why is he out so early? It's Sans, he shouldn't be up hours."

Papyrus copied your movements, surprise on his face, "HE HAD WORK."

"Wait, wait, he worked all night?"

"HUMAN, HAVE YOU NEVER DISCUSSED WORK WITH MY BROTHER?"

Papyrus followed you out of his apartment for a moment, allowing you to grab the toppings you had set out. "He never wants to talk about it." Judging by the look the tall skeleton gave you, you added on, "Every time I bring it up he tells me it's 'just a couple of part time jobs,' but he won't say more than that."

"I SUPPOSE IT ISN'T MY PLACE TO TELL YOU ABOUT SANS," Papyrus spoke much more seriously than he usually did, waiting for you to lock your door before he continued to his apartment.

"Come on Paps," you started. He shook his head, so you changed the subject. "So what are you doing today Papyrus? You're usually about to leave by now."

"METTATON HAS MEETINGS ALL DAY. DR. ALPHYS IS TAKING UNDYNE TO A SPECIAL TOOTH DOCTOR, AND THAT LEAVES THE GREAT PAPYRUS TO HIMSELF."

"Woah, Undyne is going to a dentist? God, she seems like a biter."

"UNDYNE DOESN'T NEED TO BITE, SHE HAS SPEARS!" Papyrus argued.

You laughed, nodding to him while you took your places at the table. Even sitting, he towered over you. "So why's she going to the dentist?"

"TECHNICALLY, HUMAN, ITS AN ORTHODONTIST. AND UNDYNE'S TEETH ARE VERY CROOKED, SO SHE MUST GET BRACES." Papyrus started shoveling pancakes into his mouth, one after the other, talking between bites. "SANS HAD THEM WHEN WE WERE BABY BONES. MY BROTHER HAD A WIDE GAP BETWEEN HIS FRONT TEETH."

You nearly choked on your pancake, stifling laughter. "Sans had braces? You don't have pictures, do you?" It was worth a shot, right? Who could pass up seeing pictures of their boyfriend as a, what did Papyrus say, baby bones?

"OF COURSE! SANS AND I KEEP MANY SCRAPBOOKS." Papyrus started to stand up, but stopped, narrowing his eyes. "YOU PROMISE NOT TO LEAVE FINGERPRINTS? OR SMUDGES?"

"Of course, Paps." You agreed.

The monster strode to the next room, picking out a hefty stack of scrapbooks. He then sat them beside you on the table, leaving you to choose where to start. You began to leaf through the first book just as the front door opened and closed, a sleepy skeleton shuffling into the apartment.

"hey bro. heya babe," he kissed the top of your head, "couldn't wait to see me, huh?" Sans sat beside you, moving pancakes from the still tall stack to the empty plate in front of him. It looked like he might pass out on the table, just fall asleep without another word. He glanced at you with half-lidded eyes, trailing from your face to the book in your hands, "watcha lookin at?"

"Found it!" You pointed to the picture of Sans and Papyrus cuddled up together on a couch- the same one in their living room now. The younger brother was asleep, but Sans wasn't, instead holding his brother in his lap. Papyrus had been right- there was a huge gap between Sans' front teeth, a set of braces trying to push them together.

Sans was suddenly alert, pulling the book out of your hands as you and Papyrus laughed. "SANS IS STILL EMBARRASSED BY THEM."

"am not. why're ya showing these to her anyway?"

"We were talking about braces, okay?" You tried to get the book back, to no avail. "Besides, you look super cute in these pictures."

"'m still cute," he tried to defend himself.

"Well maybe I want to see baby Papyrus too." you whined.

"SANS, YOU SHOULD SHOW THE HUMAN PICTURES OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS' PUZZLES! THEY ARE QUITE MAGNIFICENT." He assured you.

"think i'll just take it to bed with me, bro." And with that, he disappeared, book in his hands.

There was a moment of silence at the table as you and Papyrus exchanged looks. "He knows there are more books, right?" The younger brother laughed at the comment. You grabbed another book, flipping through it while Papyrus chowed down. He sure ate a lot for someone with no meat on his bones.

"Oh, crap," you held the page, filled with pictures of Papyrus' birthdays. It was obvious when he hit his growth spurt- one birthday he was adorably small, the next he was already inches taller than Sans. "I've got to go, Paps. Got shopping to do."

"SHOPPING? YOU BOUGHT GROCERIES JUST THE OTHER DAY!"

"Not for me, for Jay. He should be finished moving in, I thought I'd help him unpack and show him how to cook something other than brownies or waffles."

"THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS FANTASTIC AT UNPACKING!"

You eyed the skeleton, a grin spreading across your face. He looked like an eager puppy. For a moment you thought that he might start wagging. "Well, seeing as you aren't doing anything today,"

Papyrus shot out of his chair, fork still in hand. "MAY I COME?"

"Yeah Papyrus, yeah." You said, laughing.

Paps helped you do the dishes and put them away in your apartment. It went by in a breeze, and before you knew it you were in the store, paying for Jay's groceries, which now mainly consisted of ingredients for spaghetti. You did bring Papyrus, after all. He carried most of the bags, leaving you to unlock your car and pack in the groceries.

"I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU NEEDED SO MANY AIR FRESHENERS, HUMAN."

"Just trust me on this Papyrus, you'll see."

On the short drive to Jay's new apartment, you and Papyrus spent time singing along to songs on the radio. His versions of some of them were a bit odd, which made you laugh. Nonetheless, he belted out the lyrics without shame. You had triple checked the address Jay had given you, not wanting to get lost. When you finally pulled up to the building, you were in awe.

The building was about the same size as yours, but it was so much fancier. Just from the outside you could see that much, and on the inside it was so much more obvious. There was a man opening the door before you even had the chance, a gigantic lobby opening before you. Everything looked new and untouched, but you knew that there hasn't been recent construction around here. There was even a huge front desk where two women sat, chatting with each other. As soon as the door closed behind you they stood up, smiling at you.

Grabbing Papyrus by the hand, you made a brisk walk to the elevator, hoping not to be questioned. There was just something intimidating about them. The elevator doors opened quickly, and you stepped in with the skeleton.

"OH, OH, CAN I PRESS THE BUTTON?"

"Sure, do you remember which floor?" Papyrus nodded, smashing against the button with his gloved hand. How he did anything with those mittens was beyond you.

The elevator was quick to bring you to Jay's floor, and Papyrus was quick to knock on the door. After a moment you rolled your eyes, opening the unlocked door. The room was a mess, boxes and wrapping everywhere. As you stepped in, bags in hand, Papyrus' cough caught your attention. To your far left was Jay, half asleep on the couch with a still-burning blunt in hand.

"You're gonna burn the place down, genius." After setting the bags down, you grabbed the cigarette out of his hand and put it out on the table.

Jay's eyes slowly opened, a lazy grin crossing his face. "Aren't you a little late, Chica?"

"I'm early, actually." Reaching into the bags, you pulled out one of the air fresheners and began spraying around the room. "You okay, Paps?"

The skeleton nodded, looking worriedly at your friend. "I UNDERSTAND THE SPRAY NOW."

The volume of Papyrus' voice was enough to make Jay sit up straight. He looked at the monster, eyes wide and mouth open. They stared at each other for a moment before Papyrus spoke up again.

"YOUR HAT HAS A CURSE WORD ON IT!"

Jay snorted, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Yeah, it does. What about it?"

You looked at Jay again, studying his hat. The front of the black beanie read ' _I JUST FUCKING LOVE CATS, OK?_ '.

"THAT IS VERY INAPPROPRIATE, HUMAN."

"'S funny though, dude." Jay looked at him seriously, his poker face quickly melting into giggles.

"HUMAN, ARE YOU OKAY?" Papyrus looked at him, concern taking over his features.

"He's fine, just stupid." You finally sat down the air freshener, picking up the groceries instead. "Jay, where's the kitchen?"

Attempting to stifle his laughter, Jay got up, leading you through his apartment and to the kitchen. As soon as you entered the huge room, both you and Papyrus gasped, and surely for the same reason. Sure, Jay had a nice place. A really nice place. But this kitchen- it left you breathless. Huge windows that outlooked the hustle and bustle of the city, a refrigerator big enough to fit Jay, tons and tons of cabinet and counter space, even a kitchen island twice the size of your breakfast bar.

"Shit, my brownies!" Jay yelled, diving for the oven. He flung open the door, revealing- nothing. There was nothing in the oven.

"HUMAN, DO YOU MEAN THESE BROWNIES?" Papyrus asked, eying the one in his glove before popping it into his mouth.

Oh, fuck. Oh no. Sans would kill you.

"Spit it out!" You frantically dropped the bags, moving in front of the skeleton. "Oh my god, Papyrus, spit it out, don't swallow, spit it out!"

"That's what he said," Jay laughed.

Papyrus looked for somewhere to spit it out, confused by all of the yelling. "Oh Jesus, spit it into my hand, I don't care. Just, for the love of God Papyrus," You held up your hand, cringing as it hit your skin. Is this what it felt like to be a mother? Yeah, maybe you'd pass on that. As quickly as you could, you moved to the sink, rinsing off your hands. "Never again, do you hear me?"

"I- I AM SORRY, _______," Papyrus choked out from behind you. It sounded almost as if he were crying.

You turned to face him, a new wave of panic crossing over you as you saw an orange-tinted tear drop from his eye socket. "Oh no, no honey it isn't your fault," you stood on your tip toes to wipe the tears from his eyes.

"B-BUT, THE BROWNIES, THEY LOOKED VERY DELICIOUS. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND-"

"Don't worry about it, okay? I can make you brownies when we get home, promise. Just don't eat Jay's brown-"

"Aw, killer! You got PopTarts!"

Taking a deep breath, you wrapped your arms around the skeleton, secretly giving Jay a dirty look. "How about some spaghetti, huh?"

"Can we put the PopTarts in it?" Jay asked from the floor.

"What?"

"YES! POPTART PASTA!" Papyrus sniffed, wiping his eyes with the back of his gloves.

"I guess?"

_______________

  
Putting Strawberry PopTarts into your spaghetti sauce makes it oddly sweet. And chewy. It is, however, edible. You were beginning to think that Papyrus couldn't even taste. At least he doesn't burn all of the food, unlike another monster you knew. Jay seemed to really enjoy the spaghetti, but you knew from experience that he'd eat practically anything.

By the time that all of you had finished, Papyrus was completely engulfed in his phone. He was undoubtedly texting Mettaton, considering all of his quiet laughs and compliments on his own texting abilities. The skeleton's cheeks often turned orange while reading texts, which clued you in more. You gathered the dishes, sighing when you realized that Jay had nothing to do the dishes with, and set them all in the sink. You rinsed off what you could, doing your best for now.

"EXCUSE ME, HUMAN?" Papyrus stood behind you, phone in hands.

"What's up, Paps?"

"I KNOW THAT I SAID THAT THE GREAT PAPYRUS WOULD SPEND THE DAY WITH YOU, BUT,"

"Go with Mettaton."

"NYEH?" A quizzical expression took over his face, no doubt wondering how you knew.

"That's who you've been talking to, right? So go hang out with him, I won't mind."

Papyrus' smile was adorably bright when he hugged you, picking you off of the ground and swinging you around. "THANK YOU HUMAN!" He put you back down, hands on your shoulders until you caught your balance. Pap then turned to Jay, holding his hand out. "THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME STAY, I HAD A WONDERFUL TIME, HUMAN."

Jay took the skeleton's gloved hand, shaking it. He wasn't expecting the hug that came with it, but gratefully hugged Papyrus back, chuckling. "No problem, man. You stay safe, alright?"

"WILL DO! AND MAKE SURE THAT SHE GETS HOME SAFELY, MY BROTHER WILL WORRY ABOUT HER."

"Trust me, I'm not about to give your bro a reason to worry about Chica again." Papyrus nodded in understanding and with one last wave, left the apartment. "Y'know, he's not a bad kid."

"Of course he isn't, Jay."

"When I saw him walk in, I thought it was the grim reaper."

You rolled your eyes, leading Jay back to the living room and flopping onto the couch. "Paps is about as far from the grim reaper as you could get. And you've met him before, you goof."

"I remember that, totally." Jay nodded, grabbing a joint from his ash tray and lighting it.

"The day that Sans, uh,"

"Held me captive?" Jay suggested.

"That, yeah."

"You should spend the night."

"What?"

"It's been forever, y'know? Since we've spent the night chilling. With you in the city, and before that the diner always keeping you busy, we just haven't hung out like we used to."

"Well," you made a face, thinking it over, "I don't have work on Mondays, so I guess I'm free." Watching as Jay blew some really impressive rings, you leaned back on the arm rest. "Got any movies?"

"You know me, Chica." Jay hopped off of the seat, striding to a box next his TV. He first pulled out the DVD player, managing to plug all of the chords in in what must have been record timing. "What theme are we going for here?"

"Tim Burton?"

"Just can't get enough of the skeletons, can you?" Jay teased, pulling out DVDs and stacking them onto the table.

"For your information, it's one skeleton I'm interested in. Singular."

"Yeah, singular, unlike the two of you."

"Jay, knock it off."

"I always knew you liked Jack Skellington a little too much."

Giving up on the argument, you joined him to go through the movies. While he set up the first movie to play, you put the rest of the stack in order. Judging by the pile of movies, it was gonna be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! I love you all so much, really.  
> And  
> Uh  
> I did it guys  
> I really did it  
> It's official  
> Undyne is getting braces  
> Papyrus nearly ate weed brownies  
> You guys signed up for this bullshit, I am so so sorry.


	23. The One With the Long Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who sucks at uploading.  
> It's still me.  
> Big surprise, right?
> 
> [my main blog](http://centerofprocrastination.tumblr.com)   
>  [A blog that tells you when I update, things relevant to the fic, and an always open character ask! ](http://ficfrustration.tumblr.com)

You were right, it was a long night. About seven hours, five movies, and two snack breaks later, you were ready for some much needed rest. However, Jay was wide awake, ready to put in the next movie.

“What's next, Edward Scissorhands?” He asked, hopping up from the sofa.

“Honestly, I’m just ready for some sleep, y’know?” You pulled on a blanket, throwing it over your shoulders.

Jay shrugged, striding to a still unpacked box and pulling out another blanket. So much for helping him unpack today. “You can take the bed, I'll be up for a while anyways.”

“So you're gonna sleep on the couch some more? That can't be good for your back.”

He just shrugged again, heading off down a hallway. Scrambling off of the couch to follow him, you dropped the blanket, leaving it behind. It wasn't until you stood that you realized that your leg was asleep, making it even harder to catch up.

Jay’s bedroom, like the rest of his place, was spacious and modern. His bed was huge- way bigger than he needed, even with his height. Of course, there were tons of pillows, covering a good portion of the bed. Jay began throwing them off as you looked around, inspecting the room. Lava lamps, empty boxes, a walk in closet with clothes already strewn across the floor, and a desk with too many drawers. He really did have a nice place.

“Phone charger is next to the bed if you need it. You can borrow clothes if you want,” he offered. If it had been anyone else, especially another guy, that would have been so weird. Any other guy and the idea of wearing his clothes would have been vaguely creepy, but you knew how comfortable Jay’s clothes were.

“Am I grabbing from the floor?” You half joked, but Jay was already tossing you some clothes. “Oh, sweet, the gray ones!” Grinning at your best friend, you caught the sweatpants and shirt with something less than grace.

He turned away, trying to conceal his proud grin. “What can I say? I know you well, Chica.” With that, Jay slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him.

“Thank you!” You yelled after him before changing into the much softer clothing. It didn't take long for you to slide into his bed, pull the covers up to your chin, and fall asleep.

  
___________________

_Buzz, buzz._

Too early, you thought annoyedly.

_Buzz, buzz._

Groaning, you opened your eyes to the bright screen of your phone shining in your face.

_Buzz, buzz._

You squinted, trying to let your eyes adjust to the brightness. Sans’ name was displayed in big letters, and above that the time. What could he want this late?

You cleared your throat, sitting up as you answered the phone. Even if it was in the middle of the night, something fluttered in your stomach. “Sans?” your voice cracked, barely coming out.

“babe,” you could hear him sigh in relief, but his words still came out drenched in concern, “where are you right now? you aren't home.”

“I'm at Jay's, why?” You didn't want to think about how he knew you weren't home.

Sans paused, waiting a moment before he spoke. “have you seen papyrus?”

“He must still be with Mettaton.”

“why would he be with the sex toaster?”

You coughed, trying with all your might to not laugh. “Okay, you're telling me about that nickname later. And because he wanted to?”

“just- i’ll call you back, okay?”

He hung up before you had a chance to respond, leaving you half awake and with a million questions. Why had he sounded so… Panicked?

You were nearly asleep again when your phone started buzzing again, earning itself a glare.

“where does jay live?”

“Is everything okay?”

“i’m comin to get you, i want you home tonight.”

“Sans,” you said, your voice harsh but your heart pounding in your chest.

“paps is fine, he's almost home. somethin happened, explain later. so where am i going?”

You gave him the address, taking your time to get out of bed and stand up. He had hung up already, telling you that he'd be there as soon as he could. You tried to sort through your thoughts, too many thoughts for being this tired. What had happened to Papyrus and Metta? Was Sans just overreacting? He did seem really protective over his brother, so it'd make sense. What if Jay woke up and you were gone?

Using your phone as a flashlight, you looked around the room for something to write a note with. You found a few notebooks in Jay's desk and ripped a page out, scribbling out a note explaining what had happened with a dying pen that you had discovered. It took a while to fumble your way back to the living room, finding a now asleep Jay stretched across on the couch. You sat the note down on the coffee table, hoping he would see it in the morning.

There was knocking at the door, sounding weirdly hollow. The noise bone made against wood was never pleasant. You made your way to the door without tripping on anything, opening the door to an obviously stressed Sans. As soon as you made eye contact he relaxed, looking you over as if to make sure that you weren't hurt. Sans quickly pulled you into a hug, sighing into your hair. You could feel his warmth as you traced his ribs and spine through his shirt. There was something, just a whisper in your mind- ‘ _home_.’

He broke the hug, his face contorted into confusion and something unreadable. “what’s that smell?”

“Oh, sorry, Jay's place, so y'know.” You waved him off, not wanting to talk about it.

“are those his clothes,” It may have been phrased like a question, but it was clear he already knew.

“Oh, well yeah, way more comfortable to sleep in.” You laughed awkwardly while he relaxed again. “So, home?”

Sans nodded, pulling you out and into the hallway. Except, when you walked forward, his hand around your waist, you weren't in the hallway. Looking around, you realized that it was Sans’ apartment. Papyrus sprung to his feet, jumping off of the couch.

“HUMAN! SANS! I’M GLAD TO SEE YOUR SAFE RETURN, BUT REALLY BROTHER, ISN’T THIS A LITTLE OVER THE TOP?”

“Sans, what was that?” Your voice was shaking, and your knees felt weak. If it wasn't for Sans holding you, you might of collapsed.

“magic,” He shrugged.

Shaking your head, you sat down next to Papyrus, who joined you somewhat grudgingly. “One day you'll have to explain all of that to me. But first, what happened tonight? Papyrus looks perfectly okay.”

“SANS IS BEING OVERPROTECTIVE.” Papyrus said like it was a mantra he had used for years.

“bro, you could have been in serious danger. that place isn't safe for you.”

“AND WHY NOT? JUST BECAUSE THOSE HUMAN WERE RUDE TO-”

“you've seen what they can do.” Sans cut him off, silencing his brother.

“What did who do?” You asked, looking between the two of them.

Papyrus shook his head, standing up again. “I CAN HANDLE MYSELF!”

“bro, you know i’m just lookin out for ya.”

“HUMAN, TELL SANS HOW RIDICULOUS HE IS BEING.”

All eyes turned to you, making you sink into the couch. “Um,” you hesitantly looked between them before continuing, “I think you're babying him. I'm sure Paps can handle himself for one night.”

“YES! FOR ONE NIGHT, I'LL BE ON MY OWN- IT’S A BRILLIANT IDEA.” Papyrus grinned at you, countering Sans’ glare.

“That's not what I-”

“paps, c’mon, cut it out.”

“NO SANS, I’M SERIOUS. ONLY ONE NIGHT.”

Sans sighed, rubbing his skull. “then what am i gonna do?”

“You could stay with me,” The words slipped from your mouth before you thought about it. Fear spread through you immediately, and you thought of anything to help your case. No ulterior motives, you swear. “I mean, you'd be close by. If anything happens, it'd only take a second to get here.”

“you have a spare room?” The surprise was evident in Sans’ voice.

“Well, no, but,” he cut you off again,

“alright.”

“REALLY?” Papyrus was grinning more than ever as he took you into his arms, swinging you around. “THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY, HUMAN!”

Thank God no one could see how red your face was. “So, we should go?”

“you know our numbers, right pap?”

Papyrus sat you down, practically dropping you into the couch. “OF COURSE! YOU’RE BOTH ON SPEED DIAL, AS WELL.”

“I'm on your speed dial?”

They ignored your question, bickering instead over how long Papyrus would be on his own. The arguing lasted until Sans agreed not to check in on him before eight, and Papyrus agreed to not cook while no one was there. And under no circumstances was Mettaton to be invited over or allowed inside.

You walked with Sans back to your apartment, listening to him list off reasons why Papyrus shouldn't be left alone for that long. Apparently last time, he nearly burned the place down. You opened the door, kicking off your shoes and heading to the kitchen for a drink.  
You   
“so, where are you proposing i sleep?”

Stopping mid step, you turned to face him, face burning. “I, well, the couch I-I guess?”

Sans smirked, “so you weren't listening to pap. huh.”

“It's hard to listen when certain skeletons keep interrupting.” You had no idea what Papyrus had said, or why it was relevant.

“he wanted me as far away from the door as possible. really, he wanted me in another building. “too close” he says,” Sans rolled his eyes. Well- whatever his equivalent to rolling eyes was.

“I thought Papyrus liked the idea of you staying here?”

“don't get all caught up now, babe.”

Nodding, you slipped past him and headed towards your room. “Of course I won't. But hey, I've gotta shower, okay?”

“smell gettin to ya?” Sans followed right behind you, standing in the doorway while talking.

“Don't be getting snarky,” you warned, grabbing another set of clothes.

“wouldn't dream of it,”

You passed him again, pausing just before you closed the bathroom door. “Make yourself at home, okay?”

Sans nodded, and with that you went to take your shower. You spent plenty of time under the warm water, glad that you didn't have to spend the time washing your still-clean hair. After getting dried off and dressed, you headed back to your room. In front of you was Sans, lying in your bed with his eyes closed but a shit-eating grin on his face.

“What are you doing?” You asked, sitting next to him on the other side of the bed.

He simply shrugged, opening an eye to look at you. “ya said to make myself at home.”

Sighing, you pulled the covers over you, mumbling, “I'm not even tired anymore, y'know?”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for reading my fic, even with the slow updates. Also like, no spoilers, but I know some of you (Yuubi) will really love the next chapter
> 
> I hope so, at least


	24. The One That's Rated R

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys, this is your official warning. This chapter is smut. Like, all of it. If you don't feel comfortable reading it, you won't be missing out on anything important (though I do recommend you read the last two sections of dialogue.)
> 
> [my main blog](http://centerofprocrastination.tumblr.com)   
>  [A blog that tells you when I update, things relevant to the fic, and an always open character ask! ](http://ficfrustration.tumblr.com)

“You sure Paps is gonna be okay with you staying over?”

You'd already ask this, even before you had curled up together, under the sheets of your bed. It made you nervous, the thought of Papyrus being all alone. Sure, you knew he was safe and that the two of you were only a yell, text, or call away. Nevertheless, you were worried for him.

“just like ya told me,” Sans pulled you closer, stroking your hair, “paps can take care of himself.”

“Yeah, but,”

He cut you off, lifting your head from his chest to face him instead. “are you really gonna argue bout us finally getting some alone time?”

You couldn't help but laugh. The idea almost made you nervous, you were so far into the relationship now! And yeah, it's not like you hadn't thought of it before, but he was a _skeleton_.

Sans broke your train of thought, leaning down to kiss you. The kiss was abrupt, harder than normal, and oh so good. It couldn't be more perfect, the way he kissed you. Well, the position could be.

You had to admit that it was an awkward position for both of you. He was already bent down, and the way your head was facing him wasn't the best. Of course, you could always make this easier, but….

Aw, fuck it.

Just as you felt that familiar brush of his tongue against your lips, you made your move. Twist your body, swing your leg over his both of his, shift your weight to his lap. Easier said than done, but you managed to do it without disrupting the kiss.

At least you thought so. Sans broke the kiss, pulling back slightly to look at the situation as you both gasped for air. You could still see the bright blue glow behind his teeth as his eyes raked up and down your body. If your face wasn't red before, it sure was now.

“W-what?” You stuttered, swallowing hard. There were a million thoughts running through your head, each quicker than the last but all too fast to concentrate on any of them.

You could see Sans trying to figure out the right words, trying to piece them together. “you okay?”

“Yeah? Are you okay?”

“yeah.”

“Is, um,” you motioned to your position with your hands, “is this okay?”

“course, babe.” He leaned in for another kiss, this one landing on your neck. You squeaked, biting your lip in fear that you'd laugh. Sans moved the kisses up and down your neck as you melted into him, helpless in his embrace. It's not what you expected from tonight, but God was it great.

After what must have been a few minutes and some oddly stinging parts on your neck, you started tracing up and down his arms, trying to recall all of the names. This is what you studied for, right?

“watcha doin there?”

Beginning at the tips of his fingers, you listed off the bones. “Phalanges, metacarpals, carpals, ulna and radius,”

“are you gonna tell me somethin _humerus_?”

Grinning, you ran your fingers up the bone and to his collarbone. He shuddered, and just then you thought about how it must feel to him. “This is your clavicle, and even though I can't see them,” you fought any idea of laughter, any goofy smile from your face. “Your ribs.” You could feel each individual bone as you ran your fingers down his shirt in one swift motion.

Sans gasped loudly, his face as blue as his tongue. “holy shit, babe.”

“Did I get them right?”

“mhm,” he pulled you to him, crashing your lips together.

You weren't thinking about it when your hands started tracing up and down his spine. You weren't thinking about it when you kissed him harder. You weren't thinking about it until his tongue was exploring your mouth like it had never been there before. God, all jokes aside, you really did want to bone the skeleton. Sans kept pressing against you, which only made you press against him in return.

Eventually the two you had to breathe, and Sans took that second of air to talk. “i’ve got somethin to show ya, if it's alright,”

Nodding, you trailed kisses from his mouth to his jaw, working your way to his neck as he talked.

“i was doin some research,” he paused to stare at you, “about humans.”

“Sounds interesting,” Your nerves subsided as you kissed his neck, finally calming you.

“more like a human…. activity.”

“What, like football or something?” You finally broke away, sitting back.

“no, no,” He shook his head, he eyes locked on you, “‘s more of a two person thing.”

“Dancing? You already know about that Sans.”

“babe,” Sans’ eyes locked onto yours, like he was telling you without words.

“Oh? Oh! Oh my god.” No matter how much you had just been thinking about the same thing, you still blushed. “Yeah, no, I get it. And besides, I already know it's impossible, you being a skeleton and all.”

“i have a tongue, don't i?”

“Okay, yeah, a magical skeleton.”

He groaned, leaning back against the headboard, “if i could make a tongue, couldn't i make other things?”

You say there, looking at him confusedly. “Wait, like, you could make a-”

“not to sound weird or anything, but yeah, i think it'll work.”

“Why would that make you sound weird?”

“kinda had to… test it out.”

“So you can, like,” you bit your lip, trying to not look down to his waist. His waist, that you were sitting on. “Oh, geez, I,”

“babe, we don't have to-”

For once you interrupted him, shaking your head quickly. “No, no, I want to. God, I want to.”

“have i, uh, ruined the moment yet?”

Instead of answering, you kissed him again, pushing him against the headboard. The kiss wasn't as gentle as the others, it was hungrier, needier. Before you knew it his tongue was making its way into your mouth again, and your thoughts traveled to other things that he could do with that tongue. You were lost in thoughts and emotions, only drawn back by the boney hand on your ass.

You moaned into the kiss, which prompted more groping. Sans’ free hand played with the hem of your shirt for an agonizingly long time before sliding under, slowly coming to your bra. You could feel him pause for a moment, wondering what to do. Painstakingly pulling apart again, you lifted your shirt above your head, tossing it to the side. You started to unhook your bra, but the skeletal hand on top of yours made you stop.

“you're doin my job there, babe,”

“I just figured it'd be easier, I guess.”

“i gotta learn for next time, right?” He chuckled, taking your hands away so that he could figure it out himself.

You couldn't help but smile. He thought there'd be a next time. He wanted there to be a next time. As he fiddled with your bra, you started to wonder exactly what kind of research he had done. Sure, you'd expected to do a lot of guiding anyways, but what if something went wrong? What if it just didn't work- monsters and humans. Sighing, you slipped off of his lap, turning around so he faced your back.

“Okay, you see the clasps, right?” He nodded, and you took his hands in yours, helping him unhook it. “Like that, almost every time.”

“almost?” He sounded panicked, like they were a labyrinth to begin with.

“Unless I'm wearing something fancy, or if it-”

Sans was working the bra off of your arms, and you were suddenly all too aware of how naked you were.

“c’mere,” he turned you back to him, taking you in breathlessly. His eyes danced over your body, up and down, and just as you thought he was about to finally say something, he'd look you over again, like he couldn't believe his eyes. “wow,”’ he breathed.

“Well, uh, care to join in on the fun?” Grabbing his shirt, you pulled it over his head before he had the chance to make a joke or fluster you more. You went to throw this one too, but stopped, breath hitching in your throat as you looked at the person in front of you. You'd expected him to to look like any old skeleton, like in books or museums. But no, he was so much more detailed, the light bouncing off of his ribs in a way that made them glow. There were little nicks and scratches, just like any other bones you had seen. But still, he was so perfect.

“take a picture, it'll last longer, sweetheart.”

Your eyes flew up to his again, and you smiled at him. “You're just so…” There weren't words, or at least, none that you could think of.

“you too,” Sans brought you to him again, kissing down your neck, to your collarbone, pausing before he went further. “could you, uh,”

“Mm?” You asked, your eyes still closed.

“i need ya to lay down.” He spoke as if you'd scold him, relieved when you simply obliged. How he didn't notice the heat rushing to your face, you had no idea.

Sans, to his own credit, really had been doing his research. Even with all of the breaks in between, he could get you instantly back to that near blissful phase. After getting on top of you in the most awkward manner, he worked that amazing, magical tongue down your neck, but this time you _knew_ he was biting. His hands moved back up, slowly starting to play with your boobs. It was obvious that he was experimenting- what was too hard, too soft. When he flicked your nipple and you let out a surprising moan. When he finally brought his mouth down and you gasped louder than before, your grip on his ribs tightening as you whispered his name, low and breathy. When his tongue finally moved lower and lower until he was at the hem of your pants, and you were already so excited.

“is it okay if i-”

“Yes.” You didn't even have to think, you just wanted to get there already. Your skin was buzzing with his magic, and you just couldn't wait any longer.

He was suddenly taking his time again, pulling your pajamas bottoms off as slowly as he could. He knew it was driving you nuts, to lay there, writhing as he took you in, helpless under his grasp, but unable to reach him well enough to give him attention too.

“wow babe, I might not even need to-”

“Sans!” It was somewhere between a whine and a moan, too impatient to wait.

“somethin i can help you with?”

Was he really going to pull this? Now? Oh, God, he's got a hand on your chest again, that perfect pressure that he figured out so quickly. No words came from his mouth after a heated silence. He really was gonna make you ask. “S-sans, please.”

“waddaya want?” There was a hitch in your breath, Sans running his finger against your underwear.

“I want- I want you.” It was so infuriating that you were so sensitive to his magic.

“oh?” He was suddenly against you, kissing you roughly.

You took your chance to yank down his basketball shorts, followed by your underwear. They could have landed anywhere, you were too preoccupied to look. Before he could try anything sneaky again, you attacked his neck with kisses, sucking and gently biting at parts. You already knew that he wouldn't have marks afterwards, but it didn't stop you from trying. You got to his clavicle, running your tongue along it. He rewarded you with a groan, to which you gladly did it again.

“I can't w-wait any longer, please,” you whimpered under him.

Sans nodded and broke his connection to your chest. You sat up on your elbows, watching as his blue magic pooled in his lap- you cursed yourself for not thinking to grab onto his pelvis earlier. The magic was quick to form, a sudden magical-

Well, uh.

That sure is blue.

And big.

You slowly reached out, stroking him. Your hand didn't phase through. It was just as real as any part of him. You, whether it being out of curiosity or just to tease him, grip his member, pumping your hand up and down.

“sh-shit.”

“You okay?” You were aware again of how soaked you were, your body begging you to do something.

“can i-”

You sighed with relief, nodding as you fell back onto the bed.

“babe, you gotta-”

“Sans,” you looked at him sternly, “Yes. Please. Just-” you groaned, frustrated, but flustered still, “If you don't do it I'll do it myself, swear to G-”

Sans was at your entrance, on top of you again. “you were saying?”

You just nodded, already overwhelmed. You loved that he made so sure you were okay with it, oh god. He finally pushed in, and you moaned, all of the feelings sweeping over you at once. It was like kissing him, that electric feeling, but times a million. Sans was moving now, his mouth on yours again. You whimpered, your body feeling like it was on fire, and you loved it. He groaned, pushing deeper into you. Without thinking, you wrapped your legs around him, making him go even deeper. You moaned into his mouth, just as he moved again.

“babe,” He started kissing any place he could, any part he hasn't covered, “i love when you say my name,” Sans purred into your ear, his voice deeper than you'd ever heard. You could have came undone right there- but you could feel it, in the pit of your stomach, building and building.

Your fingers worked about his vertebrae, biting your lips to not scream. Eventually you give up on that as Sans speeds up, unable to resist. “Don't stop, don't st-st-” you breathe in sharply, your toes curling.

“shit, did i-”

“Sans!” They could've heard that across the hall, but you couldn't care less. “Keep-” you couldn't talk, you could barely breathe. How was this his first time?

“babe, i think-”

You nodded, grabbing his mouth before bringing him to your face to kiss him. Sans kept thrusting, and you could feel it, feel that he was about to- you were about to-

There was a collective yelling of names, and you felt him release inside of you. Your body went limp under Sans, feeling him twitch still as he pulled out.

He flopped down beside you, exhausted, “can you tell everyone that i never have to work out again?” Sans pulled you to him, almost close enough to call it spooning.

You snickered, shaking your head. “I think you should work out more often, actually.” Backing up into him, you realized that he hadn't gotten rid of his new little friend. Before you could make a remark, it was gone, allowing you to press against him.

The two of you stayed like that for a while, his arms around you, you purposefully rubbing against him, until you started giggling.

“what's up, babe?” He kissed the top of your head, smiling at you.

“Hey Sans,” he looked at you expectantly, “I've got the magic in me,” you sang in tune, a huge, shit eating grin covering your face.

You could tell that Sans new the song by the way he laughed, loudly and so sincere. “y'know, you're the most _magical_ thing in my life.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay like  
> Am I allowed to brag about that pun bc I've been holding onto that for months  
> Thanks for reading guys, even if it was super crappy   
> (ps a second happy birthday to that anon on tumblr you low key reminded me to update whoops)


	25. The One Where a Deal is Made

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, do y'all remember a while back when I was debating giving Reader a birthday? Well, in case you aren't following the blog (what the heck is wrong with you) and missed it, do to randomly generating numbers, her birthday is September 15th! Kind of fitting, seeing as it's Undertale's birthday too. So happy belated birthday to Reeds!
> 
> You can follow my main blog [Here](http://centerofprocrastination.tumblr.com)  
> And the blog specifically for HNFC [Here! ](http://ficfrustration.tumblr.com)

The two of you were like that for hours, pressed against each other, talking, laughing, and eventually sleeping. When you woke up, the sun was shining through your window and Sans was already gone. You could see that your clothes- wherever you had flung the, the night before- were gone, along with Sans’. Instead of the skeleton, a pile of clothes was on the bed next to you, with a note on top of it. Picking up the paper, you read what he had scrawled,

“ _had to go to work, see you tonight_  
_hope ya don't mind, i grabbed you some fresh clothes_  
 _figured you could really use em,  
sans”_  

You could have sworn there was a tiny heart next to his name, but it had been erased near perfectly. Sorting through the pile of clothes, you filled with embarrassment. He had picked out your bra and underwear, which means he had went through those drawers. Maybe you shouldn't have been embarrassed, considering that he had just seen you naked, but you were anyways. Not to mention the fact that they weren't the most _casual_ of undergarments. But under those were a pair of you old sweats and a hoodie that didn't belong to you. It took a second to realize that it was the one- or at least one of them- that Sans always wore.

Though it would be embarrassing to admit, you could tell that it still smelled like him. You had started to find comfort in it- even if the ketchup scent had taken some getting used to. There was an old woody scent, like he had been been in an ancient library, pouring over books for hours, somehow transferring the smell of parchment to him. Then again, you could picture him actually doing such, so maybe it wasn't as far fetched as it sounded.

Slipping on the clothing he had laid out for you, even the immodest choice in underwear, you appreciated your boyfriend’s style. Comfort. You hadn't even worn those sweatpants since you graduated from high school, the word “ _SENIORS_ ” still holding strong onto the pants. To his credit, they were incredibly comfy pants.

After managing to get up and go to the bathroom, you stopped to look in the mirror. Originally, you had planned to just tie your hair up and and call it good. But that was before you saw the condition of your neck. There were several hickies on either side, and what was surely a bite mark on your shoulder. Had he really been doing all that when-

You shook your head, fighting the blush that was rising to your face. It was way too hot to wear a scarf, and there was no way you were going out in public like that. So, while trusting in your makeup skills, you did your best to cover up the marks. You'd have to get new concealer soon, judging by how much you used, but by the end it was almost impossible to see the marks that Sans had so kindly left. Of course, if someone looked hard enough or, God forbid, removed the makeup somehow, you'd be in for a world of teasing and questions.

Just as you had finished, your phone started going off, making you run back into your bedroom. Catty was calling you. Sighing, you picked it up, hoping that she'd be chill.

She wasn't.

“OMG OMG OMG,”

“What is it, Catty?”

“OMG,” she was practically screaming into the phone, the thrill evident in her voice, “Okay, like, he's gone, right? You should totally tell us EVERYTHING.”

Crap. “Do I have to?” You whined. Telling people about last night was the last thing you wanted to do.

“Yes, of course you do, _______!”

“We're wicked happy for you two,” Bratty squealed from the background.

“ _Wicked_ happy,” Catty repeated. “Besides, I have some totally great info for you.”

“Alright, alright,” you gave in, walking to the other side of your apartment. Catty was waiting for you at the door, dragging you to the apartment across the hall. Boy howdy was it pink in there. You didn't even have time to look around before being pulled onto the couch next to Bratty, who was currently engrossed in her phone.

“Okay, like, spill! What happened?” Catty was almost vibrating with excitement, and Bratty put down her phone.

“Um, well last night,” you tried to think of how to make the story short and sweet, “Sans picked me up from Jay's place, then he and Papyrus had an argument which ended in Sans staying at my place for the night,” stopping, you shook your head. “Not like he got kicked out, Paps just wanted to be alone, it's not a big deal.” They were looking at you excitedly, which made you even more nervous. “So Sans wanted to sleep in my bed as a joke, and then we kissed, and we kept kissing, and,” you could feel your face turning beet red, “Then stuff happened.”

They both squealed in delight, pulling you into an awkward group hug. “About time!” The spoke in unison.

“Could you guys really hear us?”

“Well, like,” Bratty looked at her best friend before continuing, “it's not like you were _that_ loud,”

“For the most part.” Catty concluded, snickering.

Shaking your head, you slipped off of the couch, standing up. “It's not a big deal, really.”

“It _so_ is, though!”

“You guys can like, totally pave the way for like, equality and stuff,” Bratty said, picking her phone back up.

“You're way overestimating us, really. Not everyone finds this so charming.”

Catty jumped up, grabbing you by the arm. You recoiled from the sudden movement, and could've sworn that there was a flash of pain in Catty's eyes. “I almost forgot to tell you! I was talking with Dorris about your whole job situation thing, and she totally wants you to come in and talk to her. “

“Wait, like, your boss Dorris?”

Catty nodded, to which you grinned. Working with animals should be fun, right? Sure, it might be a bit of a struggle sometimes, and you might have to get a part time job too, but anything was better than working with your asshole of a boss at this point.

“When could she see me? Should I call first?” You still weren't very great with new jobs- after all, you'd only ever had two.

Bratty giggle from behind you, and you turned to look at her. She was engrossed with her phone again, typing with the speed you could only dream of. She saw your questioning looks and glanced up between you and Catty. “What?”

“Who's so funny?” You plopped back down on the couch, trying to get a look at her phone.

“Is it a boy?” Catty tried to reach for the phone, but Bratty was quick to pull it away.

“It's nothing,” she said, but her blushing cheeks told differently.

“Please?” You whined, still trying to get a good look. As Catty reached for the phone again, Bratty moved in just the right way, allowing for you to see the screen of her phone. You gasped, awestruck. “Is that-”

“No!” Bratty yelped before you could finish.

“You're talking to Jay?” You managing to grab the phone to get a better look. “Oh my god, how many emojis can you have in a name?”

Catty looked over your shoulder, squealing. “It is a boy! And a human boy. No wonder she totally wants you to ‘pave the way!’”

“We're just talking, that's totally it!”

“How is he even awake, it's still before noon!” You exclaimed.

Bratty stole the phone back, huffing as she turned it off. “You guys are like, totally judgy.”

“Not judgy, excited.” You corrected her. “It's not every day two of my best friends get together.”

“Awwww,” they started, “We're your best friends?”

You laughed, a tinge of pink finding itself on your cheeks, “Unless Jay or Sans asks. I told them that Papyrus is my new favorite.”

“You two are totally cute!” They spoke together.

“I don't know how y'all do that all the time.” You shook your head, pulling out your own thanking you for leaving a note, and one from Papyrus telling you how amazingly well his night went.

“Well like, we should probably go and see Dorris, right?”

“Oh, yeah!” You nodded to Catty, “But maybe I should change first?”

The purple monster grinned, more towards the sweatshirt you were wearing than at you, but still. Was it getting hot in here? You excused yourself to go change, only to put on some black leggings and a tank top under his hoodie. You touched up the makeup on your neck a bit, adding some to your face as quickly as you could. Once you looked presentable, you put on your shoes and headed out with the girls.

They decided it would be best to walk, since the shelter was close by. Halfway through the walk you have up on the hoodie, tying it around your waist instead. It was already unusually cold for July, but there was no way anyone could wear something that heavy outside yet. The girls had giggled at you, teasing you simply with the looks that they gave you. By the time you arrived at the shelter, you were beginning to wonder if it was possible for your hips to sweat.

“Good afternoon, ladies!” Dorris greeted you as soon as you stepped through the door, “Catty my dear, I don't believe you have a shift today.”

“Oh, I don't, but I brought my friend!” Catty nudged you forward, “Like, you remember ______, right?”

Dorris’ smile grew, nodding as she stepped out from behind the counter. “Of course, of course. So you're here about the job?”

“If you have the time to talk, I'd love to-”

The older woman cut you off. “Catty’s already sweet talked me into the idea, all I need now is to see how well you do with the animals.”

“Makes sense,” you nodded.

“So what I was thinking,” she grabbed some papers from the desk, put them in order, and stapled them together before handing them to you. “You volunteer for a bit. It'll give me time to see how you work with the animals and how well you can do your work, and it gives you time to quit your old job with that horrible boss.” She shuddered, “I don't know how anyone could be so ignorant.”

So Catty had filled her in on the situation, apparently. Good to know that you didn't have to explain everything, then. “Right. That makes sense.”

“Let's say, two weeks? Our hours are usually pretty flexible, though we will need a heads up in advance. When can you start?”

You thought about it for a moment, deciding it was best to start when you wouldn't have work. “Friday?”

Dorris nodded, moving back behind her desk. “Then I'll see you soon.”

With that, the three of you left, heading back home. You made sure to really look around, taking in all of the shops around you. There were a few you recognized, but they were all still so new.

“Hey, Catty, lets like, get some lunch.”

“I was totally thinking the same thing, Bratty!”

“Any good ideas, ______?”

“Actually, I know there's this really good take out here. I haven't bothered to order any since I moved, but it sounds so good right now.”

Bratty and Catty shared worried looks. “Like, not to sound harsh, but like, a lot of people won't deliver around here.” Bratty said.

You didn't have to ask why at this point, you only had to keep from getting mad. “I'm sure it won't be a big deal. If we order now, we could probably meet the delivery guy before we go upstairs.”

After small hesitation, the two monsters agreed to try it out. You pulled up the menu on your phone, letting your friends choose their order. Either the restaurant didn't know or didn't care, they agreed to deliver your food where you asked.

Just like you had thought, the three of you beat the delivery guy, but just barely. You took the food upstairs, and chowed down with your friends. Thankfully they thought the food was as delicious as you did, saying that you'd all have to get it again. You spent the rest of the day with them, and you realized just how much you had missed being with a group of friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you guys so much for reading. It means the world to me, really. I hope y'all have a wonderful day.


	26. The One With the Ruff Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always my main blog is [Here](http://centerofprocrastination.tumblr.com)  
> And the blog specifically for HNFC, where you can find updates and an always open ask to me or the characters [Here! ](http://ficfrustration.tumblr.com)

It wasn't until that night when you got a text from Sans that you realized you hadn't been texting him today. Not a big deal, but he usually messaged you whenever he had a short break. Besides, you had already had one girl caught up in her phone all day, not like you needed another.

“ _coming to get ya at 7, be ready_ ”

It was already 6:30, and you had just come back to your apartment. Hoping that wherever he was taking you was casual, you spent the time fixing your hair instead of your clothes or makeup. Though it seemed to be smudging off, you left what makeup was left on your neck alone. You could barely make out one of the bigger marks, but that was only if you were looking for it. By the time that Sans arrived, you were comfy on the couch with tea in your hands. Setting the cup down and shoving your feet back into your boots, you rushed to open the door.

“ready to go my,” Sans paused, holding out a small heart-shaped box, “ _sweet_?” He had that goofy smile on his face- the one he had when he thought he was being clever.

You looked at him, then the box, then back at him. A small laugh came from you, barely making a sound. You took the box, nodding for him to follow you inside as you set them on the counter. “You got me chocolates?”

“course i did, _sugar_.”

“That's so cute,” you were trying to fight the smile from your face, but it was no use. “You know, you don't have to get me anything before you take me out.”

“‘n you didn't have to wear my hoodie, but here we are.”

Rolling your eyes, you moved in to kiss him on the cheek. Right before you did, Sans turned his head, landing his lips on yours. A bright blush found it's way onto your cheeks as you backed up, shaking your head. “Was that really necessary?”

“course it was. c'mon, let's get to grillby’s before it happens again,”

“Would that be so bad?” You joked, following Sans to the door.

“y’know i’d love to, but first we have plans. n besides, you've already covered up the marks from yesterday.” He eyed your neck, resulting in you turning a bright shade of pink.

He put his arm around your waist, chuckling, but before you could make your way to the door he- teleported? Was that the right word?- you to an alleyway behind some building. Almost immediately, you slumped against him, head spinning. It wasn't quite as bad as the last time, but the nausea that overcame you threatened to say otherwise.

“Give me a warning next time, will you?” You leaned against the brick wall, hoping to regain some composure. “Where are we, anyways? I thought you said we're going to Grillby’s?”

Sans took your hand, squeezing it in his own, “i’ve found that not everyone likes it when ya pop up out of nowhere. we’re out back- safer this way.”

You took a minute to catch your breath, and once you were okay the two of you went inside. A few heads turned in your direction, but no one seemed to care until they saw Sans. Just like last time, there was a round of cheers, whoops, and hollers as San passed them. Instead of sitting at the bar like last time, Sans motioned for you to sit at one of the open booths. He waved Grillby over while taking the seat across from you. The waiter was quick to take your orders, slipping away without a word.

“so,” Sans started, reaching across the table for your hand, “any chance of me getting that jacket back soon?”

Lacing your fingers with his, you thought for a moment. “Probably not,” you shrugged. You hadn't expected him to smile in response, but the reaction made your heart swell.

“don't blame ya, they're pretty comfy,” he chuckled. You could feel his bones shake softly while he did so. It was then that you took a chance to look over him- it was almost strange to see him without the blue fabric and fur, but then again, you'd seen him in a lot less clothing than now.

“c’mon babe, least try to be subtle if you're gonna check me out.” His voice broke you from your thoughts.

“You'd think I was a skeleton too, the way you _see right through me_.” Sans laughed again, squeezing your hand before letting go, moving back for the plates to be sat in front of you. How did Grillby cook so fast?

You spent the night joking together and not so subtly playing footsie while you ate with Sans. Both of you were somewhat reluctant to part ways later, but you made up for it when you pressed your lips to his teeth, kissing him tenderly. For a moment you thought about asking him to come back with you, but the moment was ruined when Papyrus flung open the door to greet his brother. You awkwardly parted ways, retreating into separate apartments.

______________

  
The morning came too fast, light yet to come through your window. You struggled to get back to sleep, but sleep never came. Giving up, you decided to get ready early, trying to be as sluggish as possible. Even after you were finished it was a bit too soon to leave, so you decided to walk to work instead.

The elevator doors were just about to close as you left your apartment, a sleepy skeleton just inside. He stopped the doors, grinning lazily at you. “mornin, sunshine.”

You slipped into the elevator with him, leaning against the back wall. “You're up surprisingly early.”

“gotta go help alph in the lab,” he yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eye sockets.

“So you really are a scientist, huh?”

“maybe one of these days i could treat you like my lab work,” he waited for you to respond, and when you raised an eyebrow he continued, “slam you on my desk and do you all night long.”

You choked on nothing, sputtering in attempt to respond. Sans winked at you, strolling out of the elevator. Following him, you finally caught your breath. “W-what kind of lab work are you two doing?”

He shrugged, kicking at a rock on the sidewalk, “you're goin to work, right? i could walk with you, if ya want.”

Was he avoiding your questions? Maybe this is just how he was in the morning. “Only of it's on your way, I don't want to be a bother. I'm just ready to leave, and I'm not even there yet.”

Sans nudged you, getting your attention before he spoke. “you're never a bother. n i thought you liked your job?”

“I do, just not their… Practices. Besides, I'm getting a job at the shelter soon. Well, I hope so, anyways.” You slipped your hand into his, intertwining your fingers.

“i’m sure you'll be _purr_ fect.”

“Sans,” you groaned.

“its a _pawsome_ o _purr_ tunity, _kitten_.”

“Please stop.”

“guess i have a pretty _ruff_ crowd, huh?”

“I'm about to walk alone, Sans.” you warned.

“alright, alright.” He held up his spare hand in mock defense, his eyes bright.

The two of you walked in silence, occasionally remarking on things you saw. More than once you caught Sans staring into the sky, a far off look in his eyes. When you finally reached the dance studio, he stood with you while you fished a key out of your bag. Chad was already inside, the lights on and blinds up, but the door was locked. You turned to enter, but Sans took hold of your hand again, pulling you away from the door.

“one last thing, babe,” he placed a hand under your chin, moving your face to his to kiss you slowly. You sank into him, your hands finding their way behind his head. It wasn't until you heard someone clear their throat that you even thought to pull away.

In the doorway was Chad, arms crossed in front of his chest and foot impatiently tapping the ground. “Am I interrupting something?” He didn't even attempt to put on an accent.

You felt the heat travel up your neck, your face turning red. “Sorry,” you whispered, looking back to Sans. “Um, I'll see you later, okay?”

Sans nodded, giving Chad a painfully fake smile. “see you at home.” He turned, walking around the corner. It may have been your imagination, but you saw him disappear right as he turned.

“What do you think you're doing?” Chad hissed, waiting for you to go inside before closing the door. “Are you _trying_ to make us look bad?”

“I don't see the big deal, honestly. They're people, just like us.”

“Guess I couldn't see that with his tongue down your throat.”

“That's just dramatic.” You sighed, reminding yourself that you still needed the job. “It won't happen again, okay?”

“It better not, especially not in front of my business.” He spat.

You almost told him that you couldn't promise that it wouldn't happen somewhere else, but you bit your tongue and kept walking.

“Since you're here early, you can work on organizing the CDs in my office. Genre, then artist, alphabetical.” Chad pushed open the door to his room, gesturing to the pile of disks.

You did as told, rolling your eyes at the task. It took longer than you'd have thought, but you muscled through it. Your phone would occasionally buzz in your bag, but you ignored it until your break. If Chad saw you texting the skeleton he had just shooed off like a tom cat, he would have lost his mind.

When you finally got home, you collapsed onto the couch for a nap. Not long later your phone buzzed, Chad’s name on your screen. He had sent you a text, telling you not to come in until noon the next day, and that morning classes had been canceled because he had plans. For you, that just meant sleeping in.

Getting up, you decided to make dinner. You'd have to go to the store soon, you realized. Nothing really happened for the rest of the night, which after the tension with your boss all day was incredibly welcome. You were just grateful to get some sleep.

____________

Too noisy. Much, much too noisy. Somebody was doing something loud, waking you from a deep sleep. As you sat up, observing your room, you tried to focus on what the noise was. It was almost a distant hum, though the sound kept escalating. It took you a minute, but you finally recognized the sound: yelling.

You slipped out bed, running to the hallway. There was a flash of white and blue, gone as soon as you saw it. Your eyes locked with Catty’s from across the hall, and you wondered for a second why she looked so panicked before she waved you across the hall.

“This totally isn't good,” Bratty whispered from the window. The hot pink curtain was pulled back, giving you a view of the street. You followed Catty to the window just in time to see a limo race off, leaving two familiar monsters you could barely make out in the middle of a sea of people. Of humans.

“What's going on?” You asked, your voice barely audible.

Neither of them answered you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :))))


	27. The One With Actual Plot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd just like to make a note that I have twice as many hits as I do people on my town, and that's amazing. Thank you guys so much, having people that enjoy this really means the world to me. 
> 
> But I will still give a shameless self promo.
> 
> [My Main Blog](http://centerofprocrastination.tumblr.com)   
>  [Blog for HNFC](http://ficfrustration.tumblr.com)

Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion. Someone in the crowd dove for one of the monsters, for Papyrus, nearly colliding with the skeleton. Before the human could make it, a wall of bones sprang up from the ground, separating them from the attacker. This only seemed to make the mob angrier, closing in on the couple. Catty and Bratty seemed to notice before you, but something- someone was pushing through the crowd. They were shrouded in something blue, as if they were radiating-

“Is that magic?”

“Like, he's not going to fight them, right?”

“He wouldn't.”

“Guys, who is that?”

They looked at each other nervously, then at you. “You've never seen him use magic?” They asked in unison.

“That's not- it's not-” You did a double take, looking at the blue aura. The same color as your band tee. The same color Sans’ cheeks when he was embarrassed. The same color as the magic things he'd make from thin air. “Sans,” you breathed.

Your feet had taken off before you had even registered what was happening. You were headed down the stairs in a flash, taking them two at a time. By the time you reached the lobby, you could feel magic crackling in the air. You threw the doors open, finally taking in the scene in front of you. There were at least a hundred people, some with signs, some with not-so-concealed weapons, and all of them were yelling. Chanting.

“ _DON’T STICK AROUND, GO BACK UNDERGROUND._ ”

Pushing through the crowd, you slowed down, trying to move around the people. You caught sight of the blue magic again, of Sans’ magic, and there was an out of place yelp. Any sane person would run away. They'd use their brain and get as far away as possible. But your brain wasn't focused on survival, or at least not yours anyways. All you could do was think of the danger he was in. You ran towards the source of the magic, weaving your way through a crowd that seemed to only grow.

 _Sans._  
Papyrus.  
Mettaton.  
Chad?

You shopped dead in your tracks, mind fuzzy. No, it couldn't be. But there he stood, bleach blond hair and orange tan, shouting with the others. You didn't have time to stop. You kept moving.

“Sans!” You yelled, your throat sore. Had you already yelled his name? You screamed his name again, receiving dirty looks from more than one person.

“papyrus! c’mon!” He was loud, his voice thick.

“ _DON’T STICK AROUND, GO BACK UNDERGROUND.”_

“Sans!” Pushing past one last person, you were finally to the center.

His eyes met yours, and what you saw was honestly terrifying. His left eye was flaring a blue light, his right eye was empty of any light, and his usual smile was replaced by a grimace. The air was filled with magic, radiating off of him and making him that much scarier. How the humans hadn't ran off the minute they saw him, you had no clue. As you stared at each other, his eye flickered out, replaced by complete darkness.

Without thinking, you ran to him, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards Papyrus and Mettaton. “Gotta go. Gotta go.”

“babe, it's not s-”

“She's with the monsters!” Someone screamed. There was an odd twang to their voice.

“Get her!” Another voice screeched.

Yelling. Hands on your wrists. You were yanked backwards, away from Sans. Someone else yelled- Mettaton? You were released. There was a crash- someone hit the pavement. You were on the ground, too. People were rushing over you, a blur of colors. Shots. More blue. More crashes. Yelling- but not chanting. They were in pain. You hurt, too. Blackness. Someone was yanking you up. You opened your eyes. When had you closed them?

“Papyrus?”

“______, WE MUST TAKE YOU INSIDE, QUICKLY!” He had picked you up, holding you in his arms like a baby.

You peeked over his shoulder, but God you wish you hadn't. Sans and Mettaton stood together, heaving, and next to them several unconscious humans. It's looked like most everyone had ran once the shots were fired. Papyrus was jogging back to the apartment building, but Sans and Metta weren't following behind him.

“No, I can walk, let me down,” you struggled to get out of his grip, but Papyrus held strong.

“YOU WILL JUST RUN AFTER SANS. I UNDERSTAND, BUT THE GREAT PAPYRUS SIMPLY CAN NOT LET YOU GET HURT ANY FURTHER.” He took the stairs like always, three at a time. How his legs could even move that fast was beyond you.

“Please, I've got to make sure he's alright.” Your chest hurt, but not in the way that your arm or your legs did. Putting a hand over your chest, you took a deep breath. ‘ _He'll be alright. He_ is _alright._ ’ you told yourself.

“HUMAN,” Papyrus sounded more worried than you had ever heard him, “NEXT TIME, YOU SHOULD STAY INSIDE. IT CAN BE VERY FRIGHTENING, AS I'M SURE YOU SAW.”

“There won't be a next time.” You'd never said anything so confidently before.

“WE CAN NOT BE SURE OF THAT. THANKFULLY, MY TRAINING FOR THE ROYAL GUARD REALLY PAYED OFF BACK THERE!”

“Paps,” you tugged on his scarf and he sat you down, just outside of his apartment. Your knees felt weak, so you leaned against the wall. “What even happened?”

Papyrus opened the door, lifting you off of your feet again before you could take a step yourself. He sat you on the couch more gingerly than he did most things. “I…” he paused, orange blush dusting his cheekbones and he sat next to you. “I SPENT THE NIGHT WITH METTATON. AS WE ARRIVED THIS MORNING, SOME MEN FORCED US FROM THE LIMOUSINE. THEY WERE VERY SCARY LOOKING, AND THEY HAD WEAPONS WITH THEM. I HAVE FOUND THAT IT IS BETTER TO COMPLY WITH MOST HUMANS, SO WE DID AS WE WERE TOLD. BUT WHEN WE GOT OUT, MORE FRIGHTENING HUMANS EMERGED! THEY CORNERED US, SO I CALLED MY BROTHER FOR HELP.”

You nodded in understanding, putting an arm around the skeleton to hug him. That cleared up the beginning at least. “Are you okay? You're not hurt, right?”

“OF COURSE NOT! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS FANTASTIC IN BATTLE! THE REAL CONCERN SHOULD BE YOU.”

“My arm is just a bit sore, that's all. I'm sure I'll be fine.” You flexed your arm to show him you were fine, but failed to impress him with a wince.

Papyrus rolled his eyes, taking your arm into his gloved hands. His eyes lit up orange, just like his brother’s did when he used magic. “HUMAN, THIS MAY HURT A BIT.”

A burning sensation flowed through your arm, not so much painful as it was warm and tingly. You screwed your eyes as tight as you could, biting your lip. “What… what are you doing?”

He released your arm, the sensation fading away with his touch. “QUEEN TORIEL HAS BEEN TEACHING ME HEALING MAGIC! SHE SAYS THAT I’M A NATURAL,” he struck a pose, his cape rippling in the wind…. that wasn't there.

The door opened suddenly, making you jump. Mettaton and Toriel entered the room, smiling when they saw the two of you.

“Papy darling! I'm so glad you're alright!” Metta rushed over to the skeleton, wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug. You didn't see them earlier, but now that you were up close, you could see dents and scratches on the robot’s frame.

“My child, are you alright?” Toriel’s soothing voice drew you away from Metta and Papyrus’ fussing.

“Yeah, yeah.” You peaked around her, looking for Sans. “My arm hurt, but Paps fixed me up.” Giving her a weak smile you hoped was convincing, you stood back up to go to the door.

“Sans will be here soon, dear. Right now you should rest, I can't imagine what it was like to witness that.” She took your hand in her paws, smiling reassuringly at you.

“Where is he? Why didn't he come back with you two?”

“Sans is only getting things sorted out, there's no need to worry.”

“No need to worry?” You asked her, your tone harsher than you meant for it to be. “There's plenty of reason for me to worry! I just saw my boyfriend get attacked for crying out loud.”

Toriel fought a pleased look from her face- no doubt caused from the affectionate term you used to describe her friend. “I understand that dear, but it isn't a good idea to be up and moving after passing out.”

“What are you talking about? I never passed-” you paused, trying to remember. Everything seemed fuzzy, like an old movie. There was a moment where everything had went black, but it couldn't have lasted for more than a few seconds.

“Darling, don't you remember? Papy had to wake you back up,” Mettaton cooed, stroking Papyrus’ skull as if he had hair.

You shook your head, pushing your own hair out of your face. “I've still got to make sure that he's alright.” Tears were stinging your eyes, threatening to fall. Too much was happening too quickly, and it had all built up before you even knew it was there.

“HUMAN, MY BROTHER IS PERFECTLY FINE. I DON’T UNDERSTAND ALL IF THE FUSS.”

There was another pang in your chest. Even after Papyrus had healed your arm, your chest- your Soul- was still in pain. “I don't know why you guys aren't freaking out. You two,” you pointed at Papyrus and Mettaton, “we're just attacked.” You turned your attention back to the ex queen, “And shouldn't you be talking to the police?”

Toriel blushed, avoiding your gaze. “I must admit, that is my duty, but Sans told me that he'd handle it instead. I trust him to make good decisions.”

You groaned, hanging your head. “I just want to see him, yknow? With my own eyes, to make sure he's okay.”

“m right here, babe.”

You jumped up, spinning around to face the small skeleton. “Sans!” You threw your arms around him, planting a kiss on his mouth.

“mm!” He pulled back, laughing. “didn't think you'd want to jump my bones so quickly.” His eyes widened in surprise, cupping your face in his hands. “what's the matter?”

Looking over him, you tried to take it all in. He genuinely looked fine- no scratches or physical marks, though the bags under his eyes seemed darker than normal. The lights in his eyes may have been dimmer, but you couldn't really tell. “I'm so glad you're safe,” you murmured, ignoring the stray tears.

“course i am, babe.” Sans pushed your hair from your face, twirling a strand of your hair in his fingers, giving you the same examination you'd just given him. “you aren't hurt?”

Mettaton cleared his throat, a very mechanical whirl coming through. “As much as I _adore_ your little reunion, must you really be on top of each other like that?”

You gave the robot and incredulous look. He was practically- no, he _was_ sitting on Papyrus’ lap, and yet he thought you were on top of Sans. The skeleton next to you seemed to notice at the same time you had, releasing the lock of your hair and walking to the other side of the couch.

“get off my bro, would ya?” Sans asked the robot. Well, maybe “asked” wasn't the right word- “threatened” seemed a lot more accurate.

Mettaton rolled his eyes, huffing out a sigh that blew his bangs away for a moment. He sat on the end of the overstuffed couch instead, arms crossed in front of his chest.

Sans sat on the other side of his brother, sinking into couch.“tori, shouldn't you be picking the kiddo up soon?”

“Oh! Right, well, I must be off then. Goodbye everyone.” Toriel hurried out the door, giving everyone a curt nod before closing the door.

You looked to the crowd on the couch, letting out a long sigh. “I'm heading home, I need some tea. And a nap.” You weren't sure you'd be able to sleep for a while, but it'd be worth a shot. No way you'd be heading to work after today.

Sans grabbed your hand before you had the chance to leave, pulling himself up and dragging you into the kitchen. He reached into one of the cabinets without a word, handing you a box of tea.

“What's this?” You turned the box in your hand, reading the label.

“golden flower tea. it’ll help.”

You locked eyes with him, chewing your lip. “We'll talk about everything later, promise?”

“course, babe.”

 

God, he hated making promises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay like  
> Was this good  
> Cause I have no idea  
> Whoops  
> Feedback would be spectacular


	28. The One Where You Third Wheel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, uh, it's been a while. School and life have been pretty hectic, and the writers block has been intense. But I've finally got a new chapter for you!
> 
> As always, my links:  
> [My Main Blog](http://centerofprocrastination.tumblr.com)  
> [HNFC blog, which has an always open character ask](http://ficfrustration.tumblr.com)

It had been a few weeks since the mob. The cops had came, they took everyone's statement, and then they left. Nobody had heard from them since, or at least, not to your knowledge. No one really expected them to do anything anyways, or at least that's what Sans had said.

  
Any hope you had of getting Sans to talk about what had happened that morning quickly dissipated as you realized he had no desire to talk about it. The questions still nagged in the back of your mind, and occasionally you'd get small answers from Toriel or Papyrus. The ex queen and her child seemed to be around a lot more, too. Things looked like they were getting better- Sans had started to walk you home on certain days, and you started volunteering at the shelter. You gave Chad your two week notice, but left as soon as you got the job from Dorris. That day you had made a special point to kiss Sans in front of him- though Sans was the one to turn it into full blown making out. He had to take you home before anything too frisky happened.

  
The animal shelter was actually a really nice place to work. Sure, there were a lot of really gross messes to clean up, but other than that it was fun. You got to see Catty more, you got to play with the animals, and your boss was fine with your friends. You had learned the names of almost all of the animals, but one was by far your favorite. There was a certain cat, one of the fluffiest things you'd ever seen with tortoiseshell colored fur.

  
The funny thing was that she seemed to hate everyone but you- not that she would attack people (anymore,) but she refused to let anyone pet her or generally get close. Apparently she'd been at the shelter since she was a kitten, and her two brothers had found homes quickly. She, on the other hand, couldn't be rehomed yet due to her hostile nature. Eventually the cat, which at some point you'd started to refer to as “Karma,” started to let you pet and play with it- a feat few people had accomplished. The first time Catty had seen the cat rubbing against your leg she had been incredibly excited, hoping that they were finally warming up to everyone. But then Catty made the mistake of trying to pet her, resulting in a (thankfully harmless) bite from the small cat.

  
_________

  
“PLEASE COME WITH US, HUMAN.”

  
“We know how stressed out you've been, sweetheart. You'll get wrinkles if you keep worrying yourself like this!”

  
You looked at Sans, hoping for a reason to stay home, curled up with him on the couch. Okay, so maybe things hadn't been that great. Maybe you had been worrying a lot. Maybe you had been more than a little freaked out lately. But who could blame you?

  
“go with em, might be fun.” The skeleton shrugged, removing his arm from around your shoulders. “relaxing for once could do you some good.”

  
Sighing, you stood up from your seat on the couch, looking at the two monsters that towered over you. “You guys make it seem like you're giving me a choice.”

  
Mettaton looped a cold metal arm with yours, pulling you to his side. “Of course we are darling! This way we aren't _dragging_ you out.”

  
“see ya, babe. make sure those two behave.” Sans gave you a lazy wave as you walked out the door with Papyrus and Mettaton.

  
Maybe a spa day really _could_ do you some good.

  
_________

  
Let's admit it, going to the spa with two guys would be weird. Going to the spa with two monsters would be weird. Going to a spa with two boy monsters? It was just… bizarre. Especially since one was made out of bones, the other out of metal.

  
The weirdest part must have been the massages. Mettaton was clearly doing this just for the aesthetic, and Papyrus seemed to be truly enjoying himself. How he could feel anything through his battle body was beyond you- hell, how they let him keep his costume on was beyond you as well. Not only that, but whatever spa Mettaton was treating you to was actually ran by monsters. You were a bit worried at first, wondering how they would react, but everything was going surprisingly smoothly. Or at least, nearly everything.

  
“PLEASE, HUMAN? PLEEEEEASE?”

  
“Paps, you can go ahead, but there's no way I'm getting a pedicure. My feet are way too ticklish.”

  
“It'll be no fun if you don't join us, ______.”

  
“No way.” You were going to hold your ground on this, at least.

  
“BUT IT’S SO FUN!” Papyrus stomped his foot repeatedly, like a child throwing a fit.

  
You looked at him, brows knotted in confusion. “Papyrus, you don't even have nails. How do expect to get them painted?”

  
“THEY PAINT THE TIPS OF MY TOES, OF COURSE!”

  
“Can't I just wait for you two to finish?”

  
“Darling, this is how we always end our visits to this beautiful spa. It'll be like breaking tradition.” Mettaton pouted, lips puckered.

  
You groaned, pushing your hair from your face. “Alright, alright.” So much for holding your composure. “But they're not painting them pink.”

  
The boys sighed together.

  
________

  
You looked down at your now blue nails, wiggling your toes in the cheap flip flops. Given your ticklish nature, the polish turned out surprisingly well. Mettaton had been disappointed in your color choice, but both boys agreed that it was a beautiful shade.

  
“That's a wonderful idea, Pappy darling,” Mettaton purred, leaning into the skeleton next to him.

  
“He really deserves it,” you agreed, staring out the car window. The robot didn't have much time left in the city, so you didn't mind being such a third wheel. It was worth it to see them happy.

  
_________

  
“TADA!” Papyrus held out the bag to his brother, showing off the contents.

  
“uh, paps? what is this junk?”

  
“SINCE YOU DIDN’T COME TO THE SPA WITH US, WE DECIDED TO BRING THE SPA TO YOU!” The larger skeleton announced proudly.

  
“It was all his idea, really.”

  
“and you expect to do this _where_?”

  
“THEY ARE CALLED ‘AT HOME’ PRODUCTS FOR A REASON, SANS.”

  
“so you two know how to use all this?”

  
“WELL, METTATON WAS GOING TO HELP, BUT HE HAD OTHER PLANS.”

  
“They've got instructions, don't worry.”

  
“NOW BROTHER, LAY BACK AND RELAX! PREPARE TO BE SOOTHED! NYEH HEH HEH.” He laughed with a certain confidence, striking a familiar pose.

  
________

  
Papyrus spread the goop on his brother’s face as you stood back, giggling. “BROTHER, YOU MUST REMEMBER TO STAY STILL!”

  
“oh c'mon paps, this mask makes me feel so _two-faced_.”

  
Papyrus groaned loudly, mumbling about the horrible pun.

  
“We're almost done, okay?”

  
Papyrus finished spreading the paste, then took another one of the cucumber slices from you, carefully setting it on Sans’ eye. Nearly all of the others had ended up in his mouth. He took the last slice, placing it softly-

  
_Thunk_.

  
You exchanged a nervous look with the taller skeleton before slowly shifting your gaze towards Sans. He sat up, one cucumber slice falling into his hand. The light of his right eye was gone, the socket wide. He stared at you, his expression slowly changing from panic to a something near amused. Opening his mouth slowly, he held out the fallen slice on his tongue.

  
“O-oh my god,” you choked out, hand covering your grin.

  
“uh,” Sans stared at the vegetable, his eyes crossing in the process.

  
You took the slice from his tongue, holding in a laugh. “Maybe next time we should leave out the cucumber, huh Paps?”

  
Papyrus laughed nervously, wringing his hands. “GOOD IDEA, HUMAN.”

  
“i think we're done here.”

  
You nodded, shaking as you tried to hold in your amusement. “Let's go wash your face.”

  
_________

  
_Thoughts raced through your head, each one coming and leaving quicker than the last. You had stopped listening to them an eternity ago- or at least it felt like that long of a time. The noise around you echoed, but it all sounded as if you were under water, dulled from your sense of panic. Everything happened as if in slow motion, each moment passing with a painfully slow speed. Moving from person to person, making your way through the dispersing crowd. You were too slow- too late. Still, you pushed on, determined to get there, to get to him._

 _  
If only you would have reacted quicker. You should have woken up sooner, ran faster._ Run _. Your brain was screaming, the only word you could make out amongst the madness._ Run _._

 _  
It was too late. You already knew it, you knew it before you were outside. Before you took the first step._ Dead. Dead. Dead. _You wanted to scream, to tell yourself to shut up. Not like you'd ever listen._

 _  
The sirens were louder, the ambulances were here. Thank God someone had thought to call the police. The crowd parted, and you finally reached the center._ Too late _, your head reminded you, as if you couldn't see in front of you. You wanted to talk, to shout, to tell them to stop._ Get off of him _, you wanted to tell them. Your mouth was too dry, your voice too weak. Pushing past the screaming doctors, you grabbed the end of the stretcher, tears pouring down your face._

_  
“No,” your voice cracked, barely audible to even yourself. “No, you can't take him.”_

  
He's already been taken from you _, your thoughts reminded you,_ He's already gone.

_  
You knew that people were trying to pry you away from his side, to get him in the ambulance, but you couldn't stand to see him go. Not again._

_  
Again?_

_  
Your breath hitched in your throat as you took in the scene again. It was… familiar. Like you had witnessed it all before._ You fall for it every time, don't you? _Looking back at the stretcher- at the corpse upon it, you bit the inside of your cheek._ Not real _, you reminded yourself._ Just like last time. _Nodding to the paramedics, you allowed them to take the body away. It was the only way you knew you'd wake up._

_  
___________

  
Gasping for breath, you jolted up, grabbing hold of the sheets beneath you. You could feel the sweat covering your body, making the fabric of your clothes stick to your skin. You tried to focus on your surroundings while breathing slowly, the pattern memorized by now. Check the clock. Check your phone. Contemplate texting Sans- don't do it. Stand up. Take a shower. Pretend to get more sleep.

  
God, this was getting old.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for putting up with my slow ass updates, y'all mean the world to me.  
> (P.S./Edit: you guys should talk to me in the comments I miss you)


	29. New City, Old Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, remember this thing? This thing that’s been dead for over a year? I kind of Frankensteined it. 
> 
> Half of this chapter has been sitting in my docs since December 2016, just waiting to be finished. My amazingly intense writer’s block held me off until I was sure that this fandom was dead, but then recently I saw friends who’re still uploading, and that this tag is well and alive.
> 
> So here you go, enjoy!

“Are you sure?” You asked again, the whiney tone clear in your voice.

“I'm sure, Chica. I don't wanna be a fifth wheel.” Jay rolled his eyes at you. Though you couldn't see it through the phone, you recognized his tone.

“It's not like we're going on a double date or anything, I'm just taking Sans with me to see Maduh. Her girlfriend just might happen to be there.”

Jay sighed, and you could hear him blowing the smoke out of his mouth in a long exhale before finally talking. “We can have our big family meet up another day, okay? Your boy’s got some shit to do today.”

“And so you're getting high to start it all off?”

“Chica,” he groaned, holding onto the a, “Just make sure to have fun, okay? And be safe!”

“Sure thing, dad.” You rolled your eyes, pretending not to be grateful for someone who cared so much.

“I'll catch ya later, I've got a taxi.” He hung up, the background bustle of the city suddenly gone from your phone.

Tying your hair up in a ponytail, you quickly made your way across the apartment to Sans. “I swear, I never see you stand anymore. Always laying down,” you joked, your normal humor dimmed. You were excited for today, sure, but after last night's nightmare and your lack of sleep lately, being funny was one of the last things on your mind.

“wouldn't be arguing if you were down here with me.” The skeleton gave a lazy wink, sitting up as slowly as he could. “we drivin?”

“Yup,” you grabbed the keys off of the counter, “can't risk getting sick in such a nice place.”

“my way’s quicker, just sayin,” the skeleton drawled, popping out of your apartment with a snap.

You sighed, making your way down to the parking lot to catch up. After you found out that Sans could teleport, he used his magic a lot more often. This usually resulted in you falling behind.

Once you finally got to your car and the both of you got in, you drove across the city to the vaguely familiar apartment building. The interior was blissfully cool, a safe place away from the sweltering summer heat. Checking your phone to make sure you were headed to the right floor, you and Sans made your way up the building. Jay had given you Maduh’s number, and the two of you had texted until you found a day that the both of you would be free. It had been a few years since you last saw her, but she was still as busy as ever.

“you sure she'll be okay with me?” Sans asked as you stood in front of the dark wooden door, the entrance to Maduh’s apartment.

“I told you, Sans, she knows you're with me.”

“does she know i’m-”

You cut him off, rapping your knuckles against the smooth wood. There was a yell from the other side, and the door was quickly opened by a familiar face.

“Oh, sweetie, you're here!” Maduh grabbed your arms, pulling you into a warm hug. Her hair was straight now- the old bouncy curls but a memory. You thought it may have been a shade or so lighter too, closer now to her caramel skin than the raven black that you remembered it being. She gasped, pulling away just enough to look you over. “Still dressing like you're about to go to a concert, I see.”

“And you're still dressing like you're somebody's secretary.”

Maduh laughed, the all too missed sound warming your heart. “Come in, I want you to see my place. It's so much nicer than what we had back home.”

She dragged you a few steps before you laughed, planting your feet more firmly. “Um, Maduh? I need you to meet someone first.”

“Hm?” She spun around, looking behind you to a nervous skeleton. “Oh, o-oh.” A look of confusion passed her face, her eyebrows knitted together.

You grabbed Sans’ hand, pulling him forward. “This is Sans, m-”

“Your boyfriend?”

“Well, yeah.”

She paused for a minute, biting her lip as she stared at Sans. “You're a skeleton.”

“no bones about it.” He said, a hint of anxiety in his voice, contrasting to his casual shrug.

“And you're dating ______?”

“yep.”

“Um, how is that?”

“i’d like to think that we have a skele _ton_ of fun together.”

Maduh let out something that couldn't quite count as a laugh, visibly relaxing. “Funny.”

“you could almost say that i’m _humerus_.”

Groaning, you leaned against your friend, fighting a smile from your face. “Don't get him started, or the puns will never stop.”

“I've never heard of monsters and humans being… together. Not like this at least. Actually, no, last week at work I heard that this girl was-” Maduh cut herself off, a nervous smile overcoming her features. “Guess you're catching some of the spotlight, huh?”

“I guess so.” Shrugging, you closed the front door, then following after Maduh for a house tour. She was right- it was a lot nicer than what she had had back home. Every inch of the flat was spotless, or at least what you were shown. There was a room you passed that she hadn't remarked on, gliding right past it. Sans seemed to calm down a bit, the tension on his face dispersing as the tour went on.

The puns, however, were clearly taking a toll on Maduh the longer they went on. Of course Sans hadn't stopped making the jokes after he let the first few out. You had tried shutting him up, but nothing you had done had proved effective yet. Not nudging him, or elbowing him, or your weak, whispered attempts telling him to quit.

“So, Maduh, this place seems a little pricey for just one person. There wouldn't be anyone else here, would there?” Okay, so maybe this wasn't the slyest way to ask, but you just wanted to know if Jay had been right.

“Oh, yes actually, my- my roommate, Renay.”

“Weird, I never really thought you were the kind of girl to get a roomie.” You joined Sans on the couch, wondering when he had found his way to it, the skeleton pulling you closer as you sat next to him.

“Well, I'm not really.” Maduh laughed half-heartedly, pushing her hair away from her face. “These are special circumstances, really.”

“Circumstances?” You asked as innocently as you could.

She nodded, chewing on her bottom lip. “Oh, ______! I forgot to ask, will you be going home this weekend for the fair?”

Well, Maduh always did know how to change the subject.

“Wait, that's this weekend?”

“It's the same time that it always is, ______. I can't believe that you if all people forgot!” Maduh shook her head in disbelief. She had a point- you were usually one of the first people there, dragging Maduh and Jay along with you. And, now that you thought about it, it would be nice to see your family again. Sure, you had been keeping up with them, but you missed seeing them so frequently. Maybe it was time to take a trip back home.

“Are you gonna go too? Can't just go home alone, now can I?”

“I may, though I have many meetings to attend. You should take your boyfriend, if you don't want to go alone,” Maduh spoke as if she was telling you the most obvious thing in the world. Then again, she sounded like that most of the time.

You hadn't really thought about taking Sans home with you any time soon, the idea of how people might treat him there more worrisome than introducing him to so many new things was enticing. But as you tossed the idea around in your head, his bony fingers intertwined with yours, catching your attention. He smiled at you- not that fake one he's had on so often recently, but a real, genuine smile. Your heart practically melted in your chest, a smile stretching across your face as well.

“You'd want to go? It's quite a drive,” you looked him in the eyes when you asked, hoping to catch any doubt he may have.

He nodded, holding your gaze aloofly. “i already told you, babe. you've met my family, i think ‘m ready to meet yours, too.”

“Awww!” Someone's squeak of a voice cut through the moment, drawing everyone's attention to a previously closed door- and the teal-haired girl in front of it. “That's so sweet, dude.” She closed the door with her foot, something that clearly put Maduh on edge. Walking across the room, she slung an arm around Maduh’s waist, giving her a haphazard hug.

“Oh! Renay, this is _______, the old friend I told you about, and her boyfriend, Sans. Guys, this is Renay, my roommate.” If it had been anyone else, they would have stuttered. But then again, you'd never seen anyone more articulate than Maduh. Renay’s eyebrows slightly raised, but she brushed whatever had bothered her off a moment later.

Sans nodded to the new company, a bit more on edge now that there was more company. You could feel the edge to his movements, even if he made it look smooth.

“Nice to meet you,” you stood up, glancing at Sans to see if he'd follow you. He did, thankfully, making you look less awkward. You held out your hand to Renay, but instead of shaking it, she gave you a high five.

“Up high!” You met her hand, then again to the each side, “down low? Too sl-” Renay faltered as your hand slapped hers before she could pull away.

Sans chuckled, shaking his head. “the kid tried that on me once, guess ya just have to know it's coming.”

“You have a kid?” Maduh and Renay asked, their words in sync. They shared a look, and something told you that it was a common occurrence.

“no, they aren't- they're not mine, i’m... more of an uncle.”

“Wait, do you mean the kid who broke the barrier?” Renay asked, a spark in her eyes.

Maduh frowned, looking at Sans. “I thought the child went back to their family.”

“no family to go back to. sides, frisk’s got a better one now,” he shrugged. Were you the only person to not immediately recognize everyone?

“Do they live with you? Where do you guys even live? I know they made apartments for all of you monsters, but shouldn’t you get better places? I mean, you helped bring down the barrier, right? Shouldn’t you be living it up in a mansion?”

“Renay,” Maduh scolded, her voice cold, “You cannot simply bombard people with questions like that.”

Sans chuckled, shaking his head. “i’m used to it, don’t worry.” Before he could answer any of the questions, his phone began to ring. Reaching into his pocket, Sans pulled out his phone, Papyrus’ name showing on the screen.

He pushed the green button, holding the phone away from his head. Maduh And Renay shared a confused look before hearing the skeleton’s booming voice.

“BROTHER, WHEN ARE YOU COMING HOME? THE HUMAN AND TORIEL ARE HERE. SHOULD WE BEGIN LUNCH WITHOUT YOU?”

Sans took a few steps away to continue the call, and though you couldn’t hear his side of the conversation, Papyrus was still loud and clear.

“I guess I’m not getting answers then, huh?” Renay pouted, her teal hair falling into her face.

“Frisk lives with their mom.” The questions weren’t aimed at you, but you couldn’t help but respond.

The two girls looked up at you, speaking again in unison, “Their mom?”

“Toriel, y'know, the ex-queen?”

Renay shook her head, “How does that even work? Can monsters adopt?”

You shrugged, leaning into Sans as he came back to stand next to you. “Trust me, it’s easier if you just accept it.”

She nodded, though you could tell she still had questions. You still had questions too, but whether or not you’d get answers was still up in the air.

“well,” Sans started, directing his statement more towards you than anyone else, “seems that was my queue. i’ll come pick you up later, if you want?”

“We drove, remember?” You shook your head, “besides, you’re always working when they come over, actually spend some time with them for once.”

He chuckled, and you could feel his bones vibrate with the sound. “text me when you get home then.” He pressed a kiss to the top of your forehead, and turned to leave. Maduh was quickly behind him, walking out her guest.

You studied Renay, the question of romance still on your mind. You might as well ask before Maduh gets back to deflect, right?

“Hey, _____?”

You blinked, fixing your eyes on her again as she spoke.

“When you were texting Maduh the past week,” she chewed her bottom lip, clearly trying to phrase the question in her head, “did she… did she talk about me?”

“You’re together, aren’t you?” Thats was so very smooth of you.

Renay’s face lit up, and she let out a breath. “So she told you.”

“Actually,” you looked down the hall to where you could see the girl in question reamurging. “I don’t think she’s out. She hasn’t told me, or Jay for that matter. We just, well, we assumed.”

“Oh,” Renay faltered, but smiled when her girlfriend came back into the room.

“What did I miss?” Maduh asked, her eyebrows raised.

You shared a look with Renay, knowing neither of you really wanted to bring it up. “I was just telling your girlfriend about the shelter I work at.” You smiled, hoping that your childish attempt worked.

Maduh’s smile dropped as she looked between the two of you. “You…. you know?”

“Muds, I kind of always knew.” You gave a half hearted laugh, walking over to wrap her up in a hug.

“But,” she stammered, returning the embrace, “but I don’t… I don’t want people giving me that look. And the stares, and my family… I’m not sure I could handle that.”

You laughed, shaking your head. “Maduh, I’m dating a skeleton, you realize that, right? Like, the kind made up of bones?”

“Is there another kind of skeleton?” Renay asked, her eyes wide.

You released your friend, shaking your head. “You’re gonna be fine, okay?”

She nodded, sniffling to avoid the tears from falling. “I guess I kind of pale in comparison to you, huh?”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying.” You shook your head, trying to explain, “I’m saying, that if I don’t get attacked and spat at every time we’re in public, then you won’t either. And you don’t have to come out, if you’re not ready. But hey, don’t try to act like you can get this past me.” You rolled your eyes, wondering how long she thought that she could keep this up.

As she nodded, your phone went off, Papyrus’ name showing up on your screen. “And I suppose this is my queue.”

Maduh led you to the door after you all exchanged your goodbyes, and of course questions as to how Sans got home if you drove. She wrapped you up in a warm hug, holding you for a moment. “Thank you for being so cool about this. I think…. I think it’ll be easier now.”

You smiled, nodding. “Hey, I’ll come out to your parents for you if you tell mine about Sans.”

She laughed, her head tilted back. “I might take you up on that.”

You finally made your exit, finding your way back to your car. Jay’s name flashed on your screen as he called, and you readied yourself to answer everything you could. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s been a while, huh? I hope that it lived up to everything previously, and that anyone actually comes back to dig around in this garbage pile with me.  
> Thank you guys so much for reading, maybe I’ll actually keep this going now!


	30. The One With the Fair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Before you start this chapter, you might want go reread chapter 4, or at least the last paragraph. It’s relevant lmao.  
> In case you’ve missed it, I have a blog for HNFC! You should go [here](http://ficfrustration.tumblr.com) for updates, an always open character ask, and whatever undertale related bullshit I have to say at 2am  
> I’m so happy to be back to writing, and I’ll talk to you again soon!

“paps, i’m sure they’ll have a place for you to sleep.”

Papyrus looked to you for help, still trying to convince his brother that yes, it was necessary to bring his bed. “HUMAN, WOULD YOU PLEASE TALK SOME SENSE INTO HIM?”

You shook your head, laughing. “He’s right, there will be plenty of room for you back home. There will not be plenty of room for your bed in my car.”

He looked around his room nervously, checking for the umpteenth time. “ARE YOU SURE WE HAVE EVERYTHING? I WOULDN’T WANT TO HAVE TO DRIVE ALL THE WAY BACK.”

“Papyrus, I’m sure we have everything. Now let’s go, I want to get there early so we can catch the parade.”

Slowly but surely, you managed to talk him into leaving, reassuring him that he’d be fine without his entire bedroom.

The drive was long, as it always was, but the banter between the brothers seemed to shorten it by hours. By the time you got into town, the younger brother was passed out in the back seat, and Sans was dozing off.

“We’re almost there,” you whispered, nudging the skeleton next to you.

He rubbed the sleep from his sockets, sitting up in his seat. “should i wake paps?” His voice was groggy, just as it always was when he first woke up.

You shook your head, taking a turn so you could drive past the fair. The usually vacant field was full of vendors and rides, anything from a ticket booth to  
a petting zoo. All of the usual rides seemed to be there, or at least from what you could tell.

Sans watched from the next seat, in an obvious awe. “what’s with the giant tea cups?”

“They spin around really fast and make you dizzy.” You glanced at him, seeing his distaste. “I swear, it’s more fun than it sounds.”

You drove past the fair and through most of the town, until the streets became thinner and farther apart. Eventually you headed down a long dead end road, pulling into the gravel driveway and grabbing your phone. As soon as you started to type, the door to your old home swung open, a familiar figure stepping out and heading to your car. You quickly hopped out, rushing to envelop your mother in a tight hug. She smelled like she always did, covered in hairspray and cheap hibiscus scented perfume.

“You really should visit more often, you know?” She pulled back, tucking a strand hair behind your ear. There were tears in her eyes, like there was every time she got really happy.

You grinned, but before you could speak, you heard talking from within your car. Your mother’s eyes widened at the volume of Papyrus’ voice, loud enough for you two to hear him clearly.

“That’s Papyrus,” you began, pulling her to the vehicle, “my boyfriend’s brother, remember?”

She laughed, stopping before you could be in front of the door. “They have quite interesting names, don’t they?”

You nodded, letting go of her hand. “I think we can manage our bags. Is dad at home?” Running to the back of the car, you opened the trunk, grabbing your suitcase.

“He has work, but he’ll be home before dinner.” Despite your best effort, she grabbed a bag as well, walking back towards the house.

Instead of following her, you went around the car again to tap on the glass at Sans’ window. He rolled it down, his grin looking especially suspicious.

“you’re too cute,” he drawled.

“Are you guys gonna get out anytime soon, or are you planning on living in here now?”

Sans slumped back into his seat, feet on your dashboard. “it is pretty comfy.” He looked around the car as if contemplating his living situation before turning back to you. “y’know, maybe we will.”

“SAAAAANS,” Papyrus whined, moving so that he was between the front seats, “CAN WE PLEASE GET OUT ALREADY?”

You tried to hide your laughter, but to no avail. After opening Pap’s door, you headed inside with your luggage, following your mother up the stairs and into your old bedroom. You passed by your sisters room, the door surely locked as it was labeled with several “KEEP OUT” signs. Maybe you could talk her into coming with you, but it wasn’t likely.

By the time you had reamurged downstairs, Papyrus and Sans were inside, looking around the living room. To your right, your mother gasped. You didn’t have to look to know what she was gasping at.

A weak smile crossed your face as you made your way over to the boys, looking apologetically to your mom. “So um, this is Sans and Papyrus!” You know that you should’ve told her beforehand that they were monsters, that you were bringing skeletons home with you. But every time you thought about telling her, you thought about all of the bad things she could’ve said. So instead, you just… didn’t tell her. “Everyone has skeletons in their closet, right? Mine just happen to live next door instead.”

“Well,” she started, shoving her hair back. It was more gray than you remembered. “Maybe I should cook y’all some breakfast before the parade, it seems that you’re all skin and bones.” She tried to joke, but you could see the worry on her face.

Sans took your hand, squeezing it in his own. “ _sans_ the skin, huh?”

You snorted, smiling at his dumb joke. “I’m gonna go see if I can talk Jen into coming, okay?” You really didn’t want to linger on the topic, too anxious over what the outcome would be.

Your mom nodded, heading towards the kitchen. You let out a sigh of relief, leading the boys up the stairs and into your old bedroom.

“That went better than expected. For a second there I thought that she was going to faint.”

“HUMAN, DO YOU THINK THAT EVERYONE WILL REACT THIS WAY?”

Honestly, you had no idea.

_____

The crowds at the fair parted for you, letting you push through as people oohed and ahhed your group. At first, the brothers had been very on edge. But after a few rides, and your sister leaving to go hang out with her friends, Papyrus was just as giddy as the kids on the merry-go-round. Sans still followed him closely, sure to not let his brother out of his sight. There was a time or two that you lost them around a corner, only to find them again because of Pap’s height. Even his voice wasn’t loud enough to hear over the all of the commotion.

“PLEASE SANS, I WANT TO GO ON THE BIG ONE!” Papyrus was tugging his brother towards the only ride that could really count as a roller coaster, a large circular track that would send you backwards and upside down. The ride was slowing down, showing that it was almost time for the current patrons to get off.

“no way bro. ‘s way too dangerous.”

“BUT BROTHER-“

Sans cut him off, shaking his head. “there’s no way you’re getting on that thing without me, and there’s no way i’m going.”

“I’ll go with him, you can just watch us have fun.” You stuck your tongue out at your boyfriend, going with Papyrus to stand in line. “Besides, if it was that dangerous, it wouldn’t be here.”

Sans huffed, standing next to you in line, even though he refused to get on the ride. The man who took your tickets looked nervously at Papyrus before letting him board, but the monster barely seemed to notice. You’d only spent a few hours at the fair so far, every ride operator seeming to repeat that same process. You followed him onto the ride, looking nervously out of the car as you buckled into the seat. Sure, roller coasters were fun, but that didn’t mean you weren’t uneasy.

After your seatbelts were checked to make sure you were both strapped in safely, and a few other people got on, you took off. At first you lurched forward, then a bit backwards, and before you knew it, you were being skyrocketed forwards and upside down, resulting in a yelp from Papyrus. He was smiling harder than you’d ever seen as he clinged to the bar in front of him, holding on for dear life. Even from inside of the car, the wind whipped your hair back, the speed causing a rush of adrenaline. You yelled loudly, cheering as you went for another loop. Papyrus joined you in your shouting, though his soon dwindled. Looking at him, you could see that he looked much more nervous than he had when the ride had started.

“You okay?” You had to practically scream so that he could hear you.

Papyrus shook his skull, lurching forward as the ride switched directions. “HUMAN… I DON’T FEEL VERY WELL.”

You could feel the ride slowing down as it rocked back and forth, the speed still enough to warrant another lurch from the skeleton. The idea of skeletons being able to vomit was ridiculous, of course. But then again, they were constantly challenging the basic laws of anatomy.

“Okay, okay just don’t vomit, okay?” The adrenaline quickly turned into panic as you tried to calm Papyrus down. “If you vomit, then you can’t get on the rides, and it’ll be this whole mess, and,” you stopped, seeing that your rambling was clearly making him more nervous. “Okay, just, just hold it for a minute. Can you do that? It’s almost over, and then we can get off.”

Papyrus nodded, his grip on the bar tightening. After another jolt forward, the ride finally ran to a halt. The monster couldn’t get off of the roller coaster fast enough, clambering over to his brother.

Sans opened and closed his mouth, a joke clearly dismissed at the sight of his brother. “you okay bro? you don’t look so good.”

“I think he might get sick, we should find a trash can or something,” you spoke, stumbling behind the younger brother. Your head was spinning, and your balance was totally off.

The three of found your way to a trash can, and thankfully without any incidents. After a few minutes of Papyrus standing over the bin, trying to catch his breath, he finally was ready to continue on with the night. Instead of another ride, you suggested going to the petting zoo. Both brothers gratefully accepted your idea, and so you made your way to the other side of the fairgrounds.

It was getting late, so the area was pretty clear now. A lot of families had gone home, their children surely tired out. Given the smaller crowd, it was easy to get to the pens of animals, and even easier to see Papyrus rush over to the sheep, a high pitched gasp emitting from skeleton.

“LOOK AT THEM! BROTHER, HUMAN, LOOK AT THE FLUFFY CREATURES!” The sheep baaed at him, resulting in an even louder gasp from Paps.

Sans chuckled, patting the sheep’s head. “she’s not very _baa_ -shful, is she?”

“SANS, YOUR HORRIBLE PUNS CANNOT BOTHER ME RIGHT NOW, SO _WOOL_ YOU PLEASE STOP?” Papyrus scratched under the sheep’s chin, pride for his joke showing blatantly on his face.

You and Sans both got a good laugh as you went to see the other animals. There were dogs, bunnies, and even a horse. Among them was also a pig, which Sans has pointed to and said “me.”

Eventually the people running the petting zoo told you that it was time for them to close up, so your group had to leave. Papyrus said goodbye to all of the animals, and you made your way back to the center of the fair. People were still taken aback by the presence of the two monsters, but there seemed to be a lot less staring. Or maybe you simply weren’t as conscious about it.

“CAN WE PLEASE GET FOOD NOW? YOU CAN’T BE AS GREAT AS THE GREAT PAPYRUS WITHOUT NOURISHMENT!”

“I think the place over there has cotton candy, which I’m always down for.” You motioned to your right, a vendor’s van lit up with multicolored lights and depictions of fair food.

“HUMAN, WHAT IS THIS, ‘COTTON CANDY’?” Papyrus asked, tilting his head to the side.

“Come on, I’ll show you.” You led the brothers to the van, ordering your food, and then walking to the other side to wait. At the last second, it occurred to you that you may not have thought it through. “Hey, Sans?”

“hm?” He looked at you, his normal lazy grin spread across his face.

“Can Paps,” you lowered your voice, not trying to draw the other skeleton’s attention, “can he do the tongue thing?”

Sans laughed, “why’re you askin?”

“Just answer the question.” You rolled your eyes, trying not to make it more awkward than it already was.

“yeah, course he can.”

You nodded, grabbing the huge wands of cotton candy from the window and stepping away with the brothers. “Okay, so the cool thing about cotton candy is that it melts on your tongue.” You took a piece from the sugary cloud, popping it into your mouth. After a moment, you stuck out your tongue to reveal nothing but a blue-tinted stain.

Papyrus jumped at the idea, grabbing a piece and placing it on his suddenly existing bright orange tongue. He stood there, his eyes crossed in an attempt to watch the sugary substance melt. “WOWIE! HUMAN FOOD IS INCREDIBLE!”

You held out a portion to Sans, who took it, but only after eyeing it suspiciously. “isn't this pure sugar?”

Shrugging, you grabbed another piece. Soon, the cotton candy was gone, and you were all out into the crowds again. You played some games, though you couldn’t seem to win much of anything. Papyrus, on the other hand, killed it at the “test your strength” game. The woman running the game tried to argue that he must have been cheating, or that he was using magic, but you pointed out that her game is rigged anyways, so she handed him the big robot plushie that he wanted. Of course, Papyrus proclaimed that he won it for Mettaton, and that he couldn’t wait to show it to the robot.

A little after that, your sister found you again, saying that your parents were planning on heading home soon since it had gotten dark. You gave her and Paps a bit of cash, telling them that you wanted to show Sans one last thing. They happily ran off, leaving the two of you alone for this first time that day.

“are you sure they’ll be alright on their own?” Sans asked, following you through the clusters of people.

“Of course. We both know how well Paps fights, and Jen has been taking MMA classes for years.” You finally stopped, pulling the last few tickets out of your pocket.

Sans looked up as the two of you stepped in line, observing the ride. “the ferris wheel?”

You nodded, walking up to the ride operator and handing them the tickets. The two of you boarded the ride, strapping in. “You’re not afraid of heights, right?”

“i mean, i don’t go out of my way to climb mountains like undyne,” he started, “but they’re not an issue.”

The seat lifted into the air, stopping only to let the last people on. It then continued to rise, stopping periodically so that people could get a good view. It went around a few times before the two of you were left at the top, soaking up the breathtaking view. From here, you could see the town surrounding you lit up, and maybe even a glimpse of the next town over. But more importantly, you had an amazing view of the sky.

You could see every star, the lights from the fair far from being able to dim the sky. It was a view you missed dearly. Sure, in the city it was the same sky, but it looked so different. Here, there were no clouds blocking your view, no smog or factory pollution. There was only moonlight and stars, the constellations easy to read. You couldn’t have asked for a better night to give him this view.

_____

The view was insanely gorgeous. He could see every star in the sky, by far the best glimpse he had gotten since reaching the surface. There was nothing to block his view, the skyline perfectly placed. But Sans wasn’t looking at the sky. He was looking at you, and wondering how thought that the sky could ever compare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, look at me being proud of my writing for once 
> 
> Thank you guys so much for reading, I don’t think there will ever be a time that I’m not incredibly grateful to you all.


	31. The One With the Mixtape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, check me out with this consistent updating schedule. I think it’s safe to safe to say that I update on Monday’s now? 
> 
> As (almost) always, you can check out HNFC’s blog [here](http://ficfrustration.tumblr.com) , where there’s an always open character ask and updates for the fic
> 
> And here is a song that’s referenced in the chapter

You were sat in your old bedroom, blowing up an air mattress. From across the room, your door opened, Sans reemerging. He looked tired, the long day clearly catching up to him.

“paps is out on the couch,” he said, coming over to sit on your old bed. “you sure you wanna sleep on that thing?”

Laughing, you rolled your eyes. “Trust me, I’m not. But if my parents ask? Yeah, I slept on it.” You turned off the air pump, quickly plugging up the air mattress. “I still can't believe they insisted on one of us sleeping on it. Sometimes I think that they think that I’m still a kid, y’know?” You moved to sit next to him, laying your head on his shoulder.

“guess it’s that whole ‘empty nest’ thing, huh?”

“They don’t even have an empty nest, Sans.” You sighed, grabbing the blanket you had folded up from the floor, “And it’s not like I moved that far away.”

Sans shrugged, using his magic to flip off the lights as you pulled on a string, illuminating the room in the soft glow of a lamp. “i know i would be upset if you moved that far.”

“I don’t plan on that any time soon.” You planted a kiss on his cheek before lying down with him, glad to finally get some rest.

_____

_A scream rang out within the crowd, drawing your attention. You couldn’t tell where it came from, until a second scream sounded from within. You made your way through the people, your heart racing faster and faster the closer you got. These weren’t cries of fun or of laughter, someone was hurt. Your someone was hurt._

_There was yelling, angry people surrounding you on all sides. You couldn’t make out what they were saying, but you knew it wasn’t good. Their nonsense filled your head, so loud that you thought your eardrums might burst. But still, you pushed through. It seemed that every time you got close to the center, you were pushed back again._ It’s too late, you know. _Still, you pushed forward, shoving people out of the way until you reached him._

_Reached them._

_There they were, lying on the ground as people surrounded them, howling a familiar chant. Your brain couldn’t seem to process any information- not the screams, the scene, or even the man holding the gun._

Dead. Dead. Dead.

_“Sans?” Your voice was weak, and suddenly you were aware of the tears pouring down your face. “Papyrus?”_

_He wasn’t moving. Neither of them were. They weren’t going to move any time soon._

Dead. Dead. Dead.

_It didn’t make sense. You had only turned around for a minute, and_

Dead _._

Seems that twice the monster is twice the pain, huh?

_____

When you woke up, the first thing you did was look at your clock. But your clock wasn’t there, and this wasn’t your room.

Well, technically it was. Used to be? You checked your phone, sighing as you read the time. Couldn’t you have at least slept until 4?

The blanket was too warm, your sweat and tears making you feel sticky. It occurred to you that you weren’t alone, that you should be quiet, but when you looked next to you, the bed was empty. A moment of panic set in, your head screaming to tell you that it was real. It had all been real.

You shook your head, clinging to yourself as you got out of bed. Just because the dream was different didn’t make it real. You headed downstairs, sure to not wake anyone else up. Opening the front door quietly, you stepped out onto the porch, walking across the stretch of wood to sit next to Sans on the steps.

He jumped when he saw you, unease written all over his skull. “what’re you doin up?”

“I could ask you that same thing.” You looked him over, realizing that you were in similar states.

He must have noticed the same thing, the worry on his face deepening. “what happened?”

You gave him a half hearted smile. “It was nothing, just a bad dream. You?”

Sans only nodded, which you took as confirmation of another nightmare.

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

“...no, do you?”

You shook your head. The two of you sat in silence for a minute, staring up at the sky. You felt better, knowing that he was here, that you could see him, hear him, touch him.

His hand was on top of yours, and you were starting to wonder if he could read minds. When you looked back at him, you saw him staring at you. Well, staring through you. You could feel the butterflies in your stomach, the feeling ever present when you caught him looking at you.

You took his hand in yours, pulling him to stand up with you. Neither of you had expected the force, which led to an awkward crashing of bodies. You backed into a pillar, Sans stumbling with you. He wiggled his eyebrows at you, which only resulted in your laughter.

“Let’s go for a walk.” You pushed him back, which earned you a small pout.

“a walk? isn’t it kinda late?”

You were already strolling down the sidewalk, going slowly until he caught up with you. “Actually, it’s early. What time did you get up?”

He looked at you confusedly before taking out his phone and checking the time. “yikes.”

“Yikes,” you agreed. “We could go to the park, I think they still have a swing set.”

“do they get rid of em often?”

You rolled your eyes, holding out your hand for him to take. After a second, he got the hint, and took it in his own. The two of you walked through your old neighborhood in silence. The humming of crickets filled the air, coupled by the distant sound of barking dogs and a chill summer breeze. You still felt on edge, your brain filled with false memories. Your dreams were so vivid, so intense, so realistic. You knew they weren’t real. You knew you were safe. So why did they keep happening?

“Hey Sans?”

“that’s my name, don’t wear it out,” he grinned lazily at you, “what’s up?”

You pursed your lips, searching for a good way to bring up the conversation. “When are we going to talk about what happened? About the mob?”

Sans looked away quickly, letting out a short sigh. “you’re really hung up on this, huh?”

“Sans, I don’t see how you aren’t! You guys were attacked, and then just went about your day as if it was just another Tuesday.”

“i don’t want to talk about it, ok?”

“No,” you started, stopping and shoving your hands into your pockets. “No, we need to talk about this. Why are you so against that?”

“because,” he shuffled his feet, looking at anything but you. “because if we talk about it, then you’re gonna ask questions i can’t answer.”

“Like what?”

“like how come i didn’t protect you.” He had that guilty look on his face, the one you’d come to recognize when he thought you were upset with him. God knows that you weren’t, and that that thought had never even crossed your mind. “or why it was paps who noticed you first. or why i stayed with mettaton instead of helping you. why i wasn’t there for you.”

You were at a loss for words. Of all of the things you had thought about, the things you had questioned, the reasons you were upset, he didn’t think a single one. No, Sans thought you were upset with him. It’s no wonder that he didn’t want to talk about it.

“Sans,” your voice was barely above a whisper, “that’s not what I was thinking at all.”

He looked up at you, his brows furrowed. “then what?”

“I’m not mad at you Sans, not at all. I’m worried. For you, for Papyrus, for everyone. I don’t want my friends being attacked in broad daylight and it being normal. I just want you to be safe.” That familiar pulling in your chest led you to step closer to Sans as you looked him over. “I,” You drifted off, the words you wanted to say pounding in your head. “I care about you, Sans.” Not exactly what you had in mind.

His cheeks turned a light shade of cyan as he turned his head to the side. “you know i, uh, care about you too, right?”

The two of you talked. You talked about the mobs before, and the ones that were sure to come. About when they started, and how they had grown farther apart but so much bigger. About how violent they had become. About how scared it made you. Eventually the sun began to rise, and with it the people around you. The two of you headed home, hopefully sneaking in before anyone woke up.

‘Hopefully.’

You were greeted with a stern gaze and a tapping foot as soon as you opened the front door. Maybe you should have taken a shortcut inside, but hey, there was a lot on your mind.

“You’re up early.” Your stepfather’s voice was dull, quiet as to not wake anyone up, but filling you with fear regardless.

With a quick glance, you could see Papyrus still dead asleep on the couch. “Yeah, we thought it’d be nice to go for a walk before anyone else got up.” You walked over to him, giving him a quick hug and hoping you could play it off.

“After all these years, you’re still trying to sneak out.” He laughed, patting you on the back. “You better get back upstairs before your mom finds out. Adult or not,”

“She brought you into this world, she can take you out.” You spoke in unison with him. It was a threat that you had heard a million times.

With a roll of your eyes, you went upstairs, stopping just short of your old room.

“what’s the hold up, babe?” Sans asked from behind you, hands stuffed into his hoodie.

You backed up until you found a short chord dangling from the ceiling. Eventually you managed to snag it, pulling it down carefully to reveal a small staircase. “There’s was some stuff I wanted to grab from the attic before we went back.” You ascended the stairs, crawling into the small room. There was a thin layer of dust covering the objects, some clearly left here to be forgotten. You looked back down the stairs to see your boyfriend hesitantly stepping onto the steps.

“C’mon lazy bones, hurry up.”

“you sure this is sturdy?” He shook the access, sending a small wiggle throughout it.

“You just watched me climb up here, didn’t you?”

He sighed, finally succumbing and following your actions into the attic. Upon reaching the top, he grimaced, looking over everything.

“What, it’s not like we’re up here often. So things got a little dusty.” You shrugged, standing and beginning your search through the room.

“sorry, i just,” he paused, “monster dust is different, i guess.”

“So you guys don’t let things go untouched?” You plopped down next to him, an old yearbook in your hands. Thumbing through it, you found the children from your class, and began your search.

Sans shook his head, leaning over to view the book. “‘s not what i mean.” When you said nothing, he continued, “for us, dust is…” he shook his head starting over instead. “when a monster falls down, they turn to dust.”

You stopped, turning to face Sans. “You mean… when you die?” There was a great sense of dread that settled over you as he nodded.

Well, at least you knew that your nightmares were definitely fake.

“sorry, didn’t mean to bring down the mood.”

“No, no, it’s not you.” You laughed, the forced sound incredibly unpleasant. “But hey! I found little Jay, check it out.” Pointing to the yearbook, you showed him the old photo. “We must have been like, 12.”

He pointed to another photo, one you were hoping he’d gloss over. “‘n that’s you, right? you look a lot like your sister.”

You groaned, giving him a playful shove. “Shut up, everyone tells us that. It’s not even true.”

“you’re right,” he turned, winking at you, “you’re way hotter.” He laughed as you tried to shove him away again. The skeleton pulled you into him, planting kisses all over your face.

“You are the worst.” You giggled, giving in and kissing him back.

The speed at which you gave into him was rash, but by the time you could have thought it over you were already melting into him. His hands in your hair, your hands wrapped around his neck, and both of your heads in the clouds. Having him here with you provided all of the peace you could ever ask for.

A sudden flash of light pulled your attention away from the man in your arms and to the phone a few feet away. And to your sister’s nervous face.

“Shit,” she guiltily smiled at you, slowly backing down the stairs.

“Jennifer!” You rushed down the stairs after her, yelling as you chased her around the house. “Give me your phone you little brat!”

“HUMAN?”

You skidded to a halt just before running into the skeleton, anger and rage spreading across your face. “Paps, help me track her down. Get her phone at all costs, okay?”

The skeleton nodded, giving you a huge smile. The two of you parted ways, quickly tracking your sister down. Papyrus held the phone above her head, his clear height advantage making it easy to keep it out of her reach.

“Okay, delete the last picture Paps.” You stuck your tongue out at your little sister, who flipped you off in return.

“HUMAN, PERHAPS NEXT TIME YOU DO THIS SOMEPLACE A BIT MORE PRIVATE.” He scolded you, tapping on Jen’s phone.

“Perhaps next time she won’t be making out with a skeleton.” your sister mocked.

“At least I know how to respect someone’s privacy.” You spat back.

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s just what he was thinking when you had your tongue down his throat, _____.”

“That’s not even what was happening!”

“Would you two stop fighting?” Your mother asked in between you, clearly exhausted. “Can’t you get along for two seconds?”

Both of you bursted out into arguments, trying to defend your own side. At some point your mom left and got a cup of coffee. At another, Papyrus returned Jen’s phone. Sans was behind you again. The two of you continued to bicker until your mom cleared her throat, looking at both of you impatiently.

“Are you two done yet?”

“She needs to keep her nose out of my business!”

“She needs to do her “business” somewhere else!”

“you got chocolate on my peanut butter.”

“YOU GOT PEANUT BUTTER ON MY CHOCOLATE!”

The brothers burst into laughter, wheezing as you and your sister glared them down.

“Whatever, I’m going to Billie’s.” Your sister grunted, heading for the door and shoving her shoes on.

Looking between her and your mother, you sighed. “I’ll drive you, let me get my keys.”

_____

“If mom finds out about this she’s going to kill us.” You warned your sister, looking nervously out of your car window. That wasn’t Billie’s house, this wasn’t even her neighborhood.

“Don’t be such a stick in the mud, dude.” Jen grabbed her bag, stepping out of the car. “She won’t find out.” She saluted you, strutting up to the house.

Sure, you has done some unsavory things in high school. You had snuck out, gone to a party or two, but your little sister…. well, she was your little sister! How were you supposed to know she’d make the right choices? That she wouldn’t do something dumb?

You sighed, tightening your grip on the steering wheel. “If that boy hurts her, I swear…”

“what’re you gonna do?” Sans asked from the back seat, amusement ringing clear in his voice.

“I’ll,” You bit your lip, “I’ll give him to Undyne for target practice.”

“that’s actually a pretty good one.”

You nodded, pulling the car back out onto the road and heading to the other side of town. Just on the outskirts of your hometown there was a little diner, probably a restored gas station or something like that. You should’ve known that after working there for so many years. Regardless of you knowing this history, you’d say you knew the place pretty damn well. You could recite the menu by heart, list every Sunday special, and knew the name of every “special guest” you’d ever had.

As you pulled into the parking lot, you let out a contented sigh. Of all the places here, this one said “home” the most. There were so many nights spent here, whether it be waitressing or with friends. So many nights filled with studying and laughter.

“_____?”

You turned around, blinking at the short skeleton. “What?”

“i asked if you were ok.” There was worry written on his features again. He reached out to you, cupping your face in his palm.

“Yeah, just reminiscing. Let’s go get some breakfast.”

The three of you hopped out and walked up to the diner. Once inside, you were wrapped in the cozy lighting and old music, the decades-ago vibes filling your heart with warmth. You lead the boys to the last booth out of habit, throwing your bag under the table.

“_____!” The familiar voice rang out, soon followed by a tight hug. “It’s about time you showed up.”

You laughed, hugging your old coworker back. “Hey Cat, how’s it going?”

“Same thing as always. Y’all getting some breakfast today?” She smiled at your company, but the shock was clear on her face. “I’m sorry, I, um,”

“Yeah, we are. Paps, you should try their breakfast casserole, you’d love it.”

The larger skeleton nodded happily, “THE GREAT PAPYRUS ALWAYS ENJOYS WHEN THE QUEEN MAKES CASSEROLES, I’M SURE THAT THIS WILL BE JUST AS GOOD!”

“you’re supposed to call her by her name, bro. you know she doesn’t like being called the queen.”

“REGARDLESS, I WOULD INDEED LIKE THE CASSEROLE, HUMAN. PLEASE AND THANK YOU.”

Cat nodded, turning to Sans. “And you, sweetheart?”

The small skeleton flipped through the menu, his face lighting up as he looked through the page. “is the quiche any good?” He tilted his head to the side, looking at you.

“Yeah of course, everything is good.”

Sans nodded to Cat, handing her the menus. She headed back to the kitchen, only stopping when you called her name to ask for an extra bottle of ketchup.

She of course came by to talk when she could, though she was only the first of many to stop by. The same questions were repeated every time, the whole cycle becoming a bit tiring. Yes, you were doing well. Yes, you were still living in the city. No, you weren’t still at that job. Yes, they were real monsters. Yes, you’d tell your parents they said hello. No, Jay and Maduh were not with you. No, you didn’t replace them with skeletons.

The three of you left with full stomachs. Or, you left with a full stomach and the brothers left satisfied. You drove back to your old house, hanging around for a few hours before packing everything into your car and driving home. About halfway through the drive, Papyrus began to complain about your music, claiming that it was too sad and angry to sound so happy.

“DON’T YOU HAVE ANY HAPPIER MUSIC?”

“Of course,” you grabbed your phone, handing it to the skeleton in the back seat. “I think it’s Playlist 4? It’s just a bunch of random letters.”

Papyrus hummed as he scrolled through the list. “HUMAN?”

“Yeah Paps?”

“WHY IS THIS ONE CALLED “DUMB SKELETON?””

“Oh, don’t-“

But it was too late. He had already pressed play, and the music was already booming through your car. Your face was as red as Papyrus’ boots, the feeling of the brothers’ eyes on you making you more and more embarrassed as time went on.

_“When you smile, I melt inside. I’m not worthy for a minute of your time.”_

You glanced nervously at Sans, who was already staring at you. He had the biggest, cheesiest grin on his face. Jerk.

A few songs went by, making the theme of the playlist obvious. They were almost exclusively love songs, save for a few dorky songs you knew from middle school. Papyrus seemed content with the change, at least. Sans did too, humming along with most of the songs. Every time you looked to Sans he wiggled his brows at you, causing you to blush harder. He wasn’t gonna let this one go anytime soon.

“It’s not like they make songs about liking someone.” You argued after a particular sappy song.

“mhmm,” Sans purred.

You knew that trying to argue would be pointless, but that didn’t stop you from defending yourself every so often.

Ultimately you arrived back at your apartment building, relieved to be rid of the playlist. The three of you couldn’t get upstairs fast enough. You were exhausted, hoping that you could manage to get some real sleep. Sans was surely on the same page, since he had gotten less slumber than you. Papyrus, on the other hand, was full of energy, practically bouncing off of the walls.

You quickly made your exit, promising to see the boys soon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, y’all <3  
> Talk to me in the comments?   
> Hit me up on tumblr?


	32. The One Where You Have a Shell Of a Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [y’all know the deal](http://ficfrustration.tumblr.com)

The monster in your doorway beamed at you, holding various pool floaties in her arms.

“Come on punk, summer’s almost over! We’ve gotta get in one last beach day.” Undyne gave you a big, toothy grin. Something told you that she’d gotten this idea from an anime.

“IS SHE READY YET?” Papyrus stopped by your door, carrying a box full of what you could only assume were more pool toys. You couldn’t help but laugh at the skeleton’s open shirt, the Hawaiian floral pattern giving him a very touristy look.

This wasn’t the first time that the monsters had expected you to come somewhere or do something that you had never been told about. It was as if they assumed that since Sans would be there, you would be there.

“Maybe I'd be ready if someone had told me that we were going. I’ll meet you guys down in parking lot, okay?”

The two monsters gave you a curt nod, rushing down the stairs and leaving you to get ready. You tore through your apartment, searching for everything you needed. Making quick work of the exploration, you got dressed and left your apartment, a bag filled with beach supplies hanging from your shoulder. Your flip flops gave away your presence well before you had reached the cars.Undyne and Alphys sat on the hood of Papyrus’ convertible, their heads snapping in your direction as you approached.

“Finally! Let’s get going.” Undyne slid off of the car, soon followed by her girlfriend. They both slipped into vaguely familiar van parked next to them.

“HUMAN, YOU WILL BE RIDING WITH THE GREAT PAPYRUS!” The skeleton grinned at you. He was leaning against the red two-seater, motioning for you to join him. Sans was nowhere to be seen, leaving you to assume that he was in the van with everyone else.

You made your way the the skeleton’s car, sliding into the passenger's seat. “Is that Toriel’s van?”

Papyrus nodded, hopping into his own seat, “TORIEL AND FRISK ARE COMING ALONG AS WELL, SO SHE OPTED TO DRIVE.”

Nodding, you watched as the van pulled out of the parking lot. Papyrus followed behind them, keeping as close as he could in the city traffic. It still amazed you how well the skeleton could drive. If you didn’t know that he hadn’t even seen a real car before January, you would have thought he’d been driving for years.

The two of you drove through the city, winding through the morning traffic. It wasn’t too bad, considering it was the weekend. The stereo blasted catchy pop music, the wind blew through your hair, and the skeleton next to you seemed as happy as could be.

A little over half way through the drive, Papyrus turned down his music, a more serious tone crossing his features. “_____, I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK WITH YOU.”

“What’s up Paps?” You turned to him, squinting your eyes to see him through the blinding sunlight.

“REGARDING MY BROTHER…” he trailed off for a moment, “HUMAN, I LIKE YOU VERY MUCH! AND OF COURSE, YOU LOVE THE GREAT PAPYRUS, FOR HE IS VERY GREAT.” The skeleton looked at you to make sure you were listening. “I BELIEVE THAT WE ARE GOOD FRIENDS.”

You nodded, wondering where he was going with this. “Of course we’re friends.”

“BUT IF YOU EVER HURT MY BROTHER,” the air around you became heavy, dense with the energy radiating off of Papyrus. He always seemed so innocent and cheery, but it was clear in that moment that he rivaled his brother when it came to intimidation. “LET US SAY THAT YOU WILL NOT ENJOY WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.”

You gulped, staring at skeleton in fear. Papyrus wouldn’t hurt a butterfly, there’s no way he’d hurt you, right? You took a moment before nodding, relaxing as The magic around you subsided. “I don’t plan on doing anything to hurt Sans, I promise.”

Papyrus held out his pinky finger, silently asking for you to take it. You wrapped your own finger around it, smiling at the childish promise.

By the time you got to the beach, the other monsters were already unpacking Toriel’s van. You found Sans out towards the water, laying some towels onto the sand. Undyne was already in the ocean, filling up various water guns. As you made your way towards your skeleton, Frisk and another monster flew past you, running towards the cool water. The monster, a small yellow reptile, tripped and landed on their face. They quickly stood back up, pushing themself up despite their lack of arms.

Sans chuckled, shaking his skull as he smoothed out a towel. His swim trunks had the same floral pattern as his brother’s shirt. You could see his bones moving under his white T-shirt, the movements mesmerizing you for a minute.

“Are your plans usually this last minute?” You jokingly asked, tossing your bag down into the sand.

“what do you mean?” He sat down carefully, trying to not flood his towel with sand.

You pulled out your own towel, watching as Undyne pumped a water gun, a terrifyingly devious look on her face. “How often is it that you make a sudden trip to the beach?”

“didn’t i ask you about coming with us the other day?”

“You didn’t, but apparently it was decided anyways,” you shrugged. Undyne had disappeared into the water, nowhere to be seen. You sat next to Sans, smiling as he flipped sunglasses over his eye sockets and laid down. Was he already taking a nap?

“_-_____? Have you s-seen Undyne?” Before you could answer Alphys’ question, your attention was drawn back to the water. Frisk and their friend were playfully yelling, trying to dodge Undyne’s attacks with her water guns. “Nevermind.”

Eventually you got bored and decided to join some of the other monsters in the ocean. You introduced the game of Shark to them, which they all picked up on very quickly. Throughout the morning, more people showed up to the beach, but they tended to avoid your group. You wanted to be angry, but hey, their ignorance gave you more room on the beach.

By the time lunch rolled around, everyone was worn out. Well, everyone but Sans, who hadn’t even touched the water yet. Toriel had been kind enough to make sandwiches for everyone, something that everyone else was used to. The goat monster never failed to warm your heart.

Frisk and their friend, who had introduced themself to you as MK, wanted to rush right back to the water, but Toriel insisted that everyone wait at least 20 minutes. At a loss for what to do, everyone sat for a moment, until Alphys suggested building sandcastles. Everyone liked the idea, but Undyne wanted to step it up, suggesting that instead they bad a sandcastle contest. Everyone loved the idea.

You spent the first few minutes combing the beach for shells and such, picking up any interesting piece you could find. Sans followed along, though it was obvious that he wasn’t looking. You hurried back to the others and began on your castle. It turned out pretty well, the shells giving you an excuse to cover up anything you messed up. Then again, anything would look better next to Sans’ poopy castle. He had just let wet sand drip on top of more wet sand, then put a stick on top.

Frisk had used some plastic molds, making sure to line up everything on their castle with precision. A small sand dollar was pressed into the wall above the door. Monster Kid’s castle was very similar, though theirs had many more rooms and wasn’t as neat.

Undyne’s castle was gigantic, by far the tallest and with a huge moat surrounding the structure. It looked like it would fall apart any minute. Alphys had a smaller castle, but what it lacked in size she had made up for in detail. If you looked closely, you could see furniture on the inside. Toriel had made what you would probably call the stereotypical sand castle. It looked like she had taken a picture straight from a magazine

Papyrus had built a quite magnificent structure, as he had told everyone several times. The castle wasn’t as tall as Undyne’s, but it was still very large.

“That’s cheating, Papyrus! You can’t just make the King’s Castle.” Undyne argued.

“I DIDN’T ‘JUST MAKE THE KING’S CASTLE,’ UNDYNE. I MADE A PERFECT RECREATION OF THE KING’S CASTLE!”

Frisk nodded, leaning in close to inspect the skeleton’s work.

“Yo! Let me see!” MK ran over to look at the castle, not wanting to be left out. Like you had witnessed a few times that day, they promptly fell onto their face. Though this time, their face landed right in the middle of Papyrus’ sand castle.

There was a collective gasp amongst the group as the child landed. Everyone was silent as MK stood back up, looking nervously at Papyrus.

Before they could speak, Undyne gave them a loud clap on the back. “Looks like we have a winner!” she yelled, erupting with laughter.

Papyrus assured the child that it was fine, and that he would build a much more fantastic castle next time.

The group went back into the water the second Toriel gave them permission, even managing to drag Sans along this time. You watched from a safe distance as they played chicken, Undyne and Alphys versus Papyrus and Sans. The skeletons managed to win since the poor doctor not wanting to get too violent.

Of course, Sans was soon longing for another nap, passing out on his towel before you had noticed his disappearance. Bored of your water shenanigans, you decided to put your time somewhere else.

You made sure the skeleton was really asleep before beginning to pile sand on top of him. You’d never seen the prank actually work, only ever seeing pictures online or watching it on TV. Frisk quickly caught on, bringing you buckets of sand so that you could cover him faster. It took a while, but you managed to bury the skeleton up to his neck. You laid next to him, watching the others play as you waited for him to wake up.

Eventually you became antsy, clearing your throat loudly and yelling back and forth to your friends. Sans finally began to stir, soon realizing that he couldn’t move. You smirked at him, batting your lashes. “Something wrong?”

He grumbled a reply, trying to hide a laugh. Suddenly, the sand covering the skeleton became surrounded in a blue glow, the contents lifting into the air. It was then promptly dropped on top of you instead.

You could hear the monsters laugh as you struggled out of the pile. Glaring at Sans, you shook the sand off of you, “How did you do that?”

He shrugged, “magic.”

You stood up, trying to rid yourself of the sand, “I hate that that was funny. I’m gonna have sand in my bathing suit for the rest of eternity.”

“wanna get some nicecream?” The skeleton wasn’t even listening to you, instead staring at the cart at the end of the beach.

“Earth to Sans?” You grabbed his hand, pulling him up from his towel.

He laughed, looping his arm with yours. “sorry, still in sleep mode. and i saw the oppur _tuna_ ty  for a nice treat.”

You laughed as he led you to the nicecream cart. “Really, Sans?”

“it _shore_ was a good one, wasn’t it?”

The two of you bought your popsicles and started to make your way along the edge of the water. Sans was clearly worn out, despite his day full of naps. The sun was already beginning to set, and you were sure the skeleton was more than ready for a full night’s sleep.

You looked at him, blushing as you realized that he was already looking at you. Jokingly, you gave the bright blue popsicle a slow lick, winking at Sans. His face lit up, cyan dusting his cheeks.

You loved that color. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When you realize halfway through your chapter that the first bad time threat is made by Papyrus and not sans   
> Whoops  
> Anyyyyyyways  
> Thank you guys so much for reading <3


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